The Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) reported on Tuesday 10,315 new COVID-19 infections in the Netherlands in a 24-hour span, almost as many as a day earlier.
It was the third day in a row that the daily number of infections topped the 10,000 mark in the Netherlands. On Monday, the RIVM said the daily number of confirmed new cases reached a new high of 10,343, following Sunday's figure of 10,202.
To date, the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases totals 311,889 in the country, and the death toll is 7,142 since the start of the outbreak, RIVM data showed.
The RIVM's weekly figures showed that a total of 67,542 COVID-19 infections were registered during the seven-day period ending at 10 a.m. on Tuesday.
RIVM data showed that the total number of infections determined in October was dramatically higher than the positive diagnoses reported between June and September, reported the NL Times news portal.
Testing in the Netherlands became widely available to the public on June 1. From then through Sept. 30, nearly 80,500 people tested positive for COVID-19. But in October alone, 132,183 were diagnosed with the disease so far, said the NL Times.
Deaths over the past week also jumped up by 78 percent compared to the previous week. Some 329 COVID-19 deaths were reported to the RIVM, compared to 185 before, according to the news portal.
But there was some good news in the weekly report from the RIVM, which showed that the basic reproduction (R) number of the virus fell further, dropping from 1.22 to 1.16. That means that 100 contagious people are expected to spread the infection to 116 others, the report said.
On Tuesday evening, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Health Minister Hugo de Jonge are scheduled to give an update on the COVID-19 situation in the Netherlands at a press conference in The Hague. New measures are not expected to be announced, local media said.
On Oct. 14, the Netherlands returned to a "partial lockdown" to contain the spread of the virus, including the closure of all bars and restaurants in the country.
As the world is struggling to contain the pandemic, countries including France, China, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States are racing to find a vaccine.
According to the website of the World Health Organization, as of Oct. 19, there were 198 COVID-19 candidate vaccines being developed worldwide, and 44 of them were in clinical trials.
