On this page, RIVM provides a weekly update on Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) in the Netherlands every Wednesday.
Update 18 February 2026: Low levels of SARS-CoV-2 in the Netherlands
The number of Infectieradar participants with respiratory symptoms who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 remained low last week. In wastewater surveillance, the national average number of virus particles (the viral load) decreased last week compared to the week before. The number of SARS-CoV-2 detections in the national virological laboratory surveillance remained similar in the past week compared to the previous week. In the past week, SARS-CoV-2 was detected once (1.4%) in the 74 samples taken from people who visited their general practitioner (GP) for respiratory symptoms.
Since November 2025, aside from SARS-CoV-2 variant XFG, we have seen an increase in variant BA.3.2. Although BA.3.2 differs from previous variants and the current vaccine, this vaccine is still expected to offer protection against serious illness (source: WHO). There are no indications that this variant causes more severe illness than previous variants or sub-variants.
Besides SARS-CoV-2, other pathogens can also cause respiratory infections.
See also
Facts and figures about coronavirus SARS-CoV-2
The figures below present information about coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in the Netherlands. Data for the past few weeks is not yet complete. This is because some data is received later.
Data of 2019/2020 season is available from week 14 of 2020. Week 53 of 2020 is not included in this figure.
Based on data available at RIVM on Wednesdays, as published in the open data. See the RIVM page about wastewater surveillance for the most recent data. See the explanation of the data presented for more details about how these figures are calculated.
The daily number of unique survey participants reporting a positive COVID-19 test, summed up for the entire calendar week (Monday through Sunday). The positive test result could come from a self-test, PCR test or rapid antigen test. The percentage of participants who are tested when they have symptoms may fluctuate over time. These results are not from the nose and throat swabs sent in through the self-test study that started in September 2022. Source: Infectieradar RIVM.
SARS-CoV-2 detections in virological laboratory surveillance
Number of detections
Skip chart 'Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 detected in laboratory samples' and go to datatableSource: virological diagnostics reports from the Dutch Working Group for Clinical Virology (NWKV).
This graph includes data from laboratories that only report data on SARS-CoV-2 detections, unlike the virological laboratory surveillance reports on the Influenza and RS-virus pages. The graph only uses data from laboratories that have reported data for at least 95% of the weeks since the 2023/2024 respiratory season and for every one of the five most recent weeks. Therefore, the laboratories of which the data are shown in the graph may change each week. In addition, the number of detections of SARS-CoV-2 in a week may change each week.
Note: This data is owned by laboratories participating in the virological laboratory surveillance (Virologische Weekstaten), represented by the board of the Dutch Working Group for Clinical Virology (NWKV). The database is managed by RIVM. Further use of the data is not allowed without permission. Permission for use of the data may be requested by contacting virweekstaten@rivm.nl.
Percentage of detections
Skip chart 'Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 detected in laboratory samples' and go to datatableSource: virological diagnostics reports from the Dutch Working Group for Clinical Virology (NWKV).
Some of the laboratories report the number of samples tested in addition to the number of detections. The percentage of positive samples in the graph above is based on the reports in which the numbers of samples were reported as well. Not all laboratories that report the number of samples tested have reported data for the most recent week. Therefore, the percentage of positive samples in the most recent week may still change.
Note: This data is owned by laboratories participating in the virological laboratory surveillance (Virologische Weekstaten), represented by the board of the Dutch Working Group for Clinical Virology (NWKV). The database is managed by RIVM. Further use of the data is not allowed without permission. Permission for use of the data may be requested by contacting virweekstaten@rivm.nl.
Posting schedule for COVID-19 updates
| Updates | When |
|---|---|
| Current situation SARS-CoV-2 | Weekly on Wednesday afternoon |
| Figures on the COVID-19 vaccination programme | 10 December 2025 |
| Figures on vaccine effectiveness in preventing hospital admissions | The date of the next update has not yet been determined |
| Mortality figures | Weekly on Wednesday afternoon |
| Figures on pathogen surveillance of virus variants | Even weeks on Wednesday afternoon |
| Figures on coronavirus monitoring in wastewater research | Weekly on Wednesday afternoon |
| RIVM provides access to the underlying data sets for various topics related to COVID-19. This includes data on reported cases of COVID-19, pathogen surveillance results, and sewage surveillance results. The data is publicly available to download. | |