New daily coronavirus infections in the Netherlands are back to roughly half their level at the peak of the pandemic, while France’s prime minister has said it is crucial for his country to avoid a new lockdown amid a “worrying increase” in cases.
Jaap van Dissel, the Netherlands’ chief epidemiologist, told the Dutch parliament on Tuesday that 4,036 new Covid-19 cases had been reported in the past week, an increase of 55% on the previous seven days. The figure translated to a daily average of more than 500, compared with nearly 1,200 at the peak of pandemic.
The Dutch public health institute, RIVM, said the proportion of positive tests had risen from 2.3% to 3.6% over the same period, but added that the number of hospitalisations had fallen slightly – possibly because young people, who generally have milder symptoms, accounted for most of the new cases.
The Netherlands has recorded a total of nearly 60,000 cases and just over 6,000 deaths, with the number of fatalities falling to about one every seven days in recent weeks, compared to more than 150 in early April.
In France, which has reported an average of about 1,600 new infections a day for the past seven days, compared to roughly 4,300 in April, the president, Emmanuel Macron, held a virtual cabinet meeting to discuss a rapid rise in case numbers.
The French prime minister, Jean Castex, said the government would be consulting with local elected officials with the aim of expanding the number of areas across the country – currently 330 – where wearing a mask is now compulsory in the open air.
Castex also said a ban on gatherings of more than 5,000 people would be extended until 1 October. “For the past fortnight, the epidemiological situation has been deteriorating,” he said. “The number of hospitalisation and ICU admission has been increasing. Twenty-five new clusters are being identified every day. It’s worrying.”
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