A further 210 people in the Netherlands have been hospitalised with coronavirus, while the official death toll has risen by 122 to nearly 3,000, the public health institute RIVM said in its latest update.

In total, 27,419 people have now tested positive for the disease, of whom 28% are known to work in healthcare. Testing in the Netherlands has been largely confined to people working in the care sector, specifically in hospitals, but the strategy is now being expanded.

The figures continue to show that the spread of the disease has been slowed by measures taken by the government, such as the introduction of the 1.5 metre rule, the RIVM said.

The true figures in terms of infections and deaths are likely to be far higher, because the official figures only include people who have tested positive for the disease.

Figures showing how many people are being treated in intensive care will be published later on Tuesday.

On Monday, officials said the number of IC patients had dropped by 20 to 1,338.