People visit the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Feb. 18, 2022. (Photo by Sylvia Lederer/Xinhua)
The "significant increase" is a combined effect of the Carnival week and the relaxed COVID-19 measures, according to the RIVM.
THE HAGUE, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The number of positive COVID-19 tests in the Netherlands increased by almost 80 percent in the past week, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) said on Tuesday.
In its weekly update, the RIVM reported that between March 1 and March 8, the number of people who tested positive for COVID-19 rose by 79 percent to 439,775 from 245,898 the week before. The increase follows several weeks of declines.
Photo taken on Feb. 18, 2022 shows a COVID-19 test site at the Rembrandt Square in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. (Photo by Sylvia Lederer/Xinhua)
"This significant increase is a combined effect of the Carnival week and the relaxed measures," the RIVM said.
In the middle of February, just after the Omicron wave reached its peak, the Dutch government decided to lift almost all COVID-19 restrictions and "return to normal life."
The current increase was highest in the regions that held Carnival celebrations between Feb. 26 and March 1, notably in the southern provinces of Limburg and North Brabant. The increase in the number of new infections was less marked in the country's other regions.
People visit the van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Feb. 18, 2022. (Photo by Sylvia Lederer/Xinhua)■
