There will be emergency accommodation for asylum seekers arriving in the Netherlands after all but the Ter Apel reception centre in Groningen will remain closed to new arrivals, justice ministry officials say.

On Sunday, the ministry said that new refugees arriving in the Netherlands will not be admitted to official residential centres from Monday because of the coronavirus threat.

The aim is to keep points of contact to a minimum, justice minister Ferd Grapperhaus said in a briefing to parliament.

But now officials say there will be emergency housing – likely to be tents and marquees – to make sure that families with children do not end up on the streets.

Junior justice minister Ankie Broekers-Knol said she expected numbers would be limited because refugee numbers have been going down.

‘This is an extremely unusual situation and the entire country is having to deal with extreme measures,’ Broekers-Knol said. ‘Fast and unconventional approaches is part of this.’

The location of the emergency accommodation, which will not fall under the COA refugee settlement agency, has not yet been made public.

Last week, some 400 refugees, including family members in the Netherlands under reunification schemes, were placed on the official registry, according to justice ministry figures.