In the week from 17 to 23 March, 46,005 people received a positive test result for COVID-19, an increase of 16% compared to the week before that. The reproduction number continued to rise, from 1.06 on 1 March to 1.11 on 8 March.

The method developed by RIVM to assess whether waste treatment is sufficiently safe and sustainable, can contribute to the European ambitions for a safe and more circular economy.

More nitrogen and phosphorus have been ending up in the soil on farms since 2015. As a result, nitrate concentrations have been rising since 2017 in leachates and ditch water from those farms.

In the week from 2 to 9 March, 31,959 people received a positive test result for COVID-19, about the same as in the week before that. More than 360,000 people were tested, an increase of nearly 14% compared to the week before that.

Compliance with the coronavirus measures in the Netherlands, such as the night-time curfew, working from home and avoiding crowds, is still high.

Together with the water boards, RIVM is currently testing sewage samples for the presence of the novel coronavirus. This involves a total of more than 300 sampling points at sewage treatment plants throughout the Netherlands.

8,265 new COVID-19 infections were reported over the past week by the Municipal Public Health Services (GGDs). For the second week in a row, there has been a sharp increase in the number of positive tests reported

3,597 new COVID-19 infections were reported last week. This is almost the same as last week, when there were 3,588 newly reported infections