The official death toll from coronavirus in the Netherlands climbed by 115 on Sunday, according to the daily update from public health agency RIVM.

This takes the official death toll to 1,766, although the true figure is likely to be higher. Three people under the age of 50 have now died, although all three had underlying health issues, the RIVM said.

A further 253 people have been admitted to hospital overnight, a sharp drop on Saturday’s figure, although there may be a time lag, the RIVM said. The number of positive tests rose to 17,851 (+1,224).

The number of hospital admissions has been declining for several days now, a fact confirmed by research carried out by Stanford University in the US.

Our group analysis indicates that six more European countries including Spain, Portugal, Austria, Belgium, France and The Netherlands are entering deceleration phase. New cases are decreasing and in some places new deaths too. Great news!!

— Michael Levitt (@MLevitt_NP2013) April 4, 2020

Meanwhile, research by I&O shows that a majority of people in the Netherlands expect some of the measures introduced to combat coronavirus will continue for at least six months.

In total, almost three in five say they think the ban on shaking hands and cafe and restaurant closures will continue until after the summer, while almost one in 10 expect the rules to remain in force for at least a year.

The research also shows 90% of people respect the cabinet’s ‘intelligent lock down’ strategy and 75% are satisfied with the measures the government has brought in to support smaller companies which have been hard hit.

Some 37% are concerned about their own financial situation, but that rises to 61% among the self-employed.