A 54-year-old woman who made online threats against Jaap van Dissel, a key member of the government’s coronavirus Outbreak Management Team, has been jailed for eight weeks, four suspended.

The woman, who comes from Apeldoorn, was found guilty of incitement after sharing Van Dissel’s home address via message service Telegram and calling on people to ‘bring bricks to his birthday’.

A second woman, aged 53 and from Terneuzen, was jailed for six weeks, four suspended ,for circulating a video stating Van Dissel was a paedophile.

During the trial, Hans Brug, the director general of the public health institute RIVM said his staff are reaching their limits. ‘The RIVM can take it, and we don’t avoid criticism, the opposite in fact,’ he said. ‘But this case goes further, and is directed at a single person.’

The official investigation into the Telegram group is still ongoing and police say they do not rule out more arrests.