The number of daily coronavirus infections rose by 738 in the 24 hours to Wednesday morning, interrupting the downward trend of the last two weeks.

Another 5,424 cases were recorded by public health agency RIVM by 10am, more than the figures for Monday or Tuesday. However, the number is 29% below last Wednesday’s figure of 7,763.

Amsterdam had 329 new infections, the highest number for any individual municipality, while Rotterdam and The Hague recorded 285 and 169 respectively.

The number of patients in hospital fell by 18 to 2,277. However, another eight patients were transferred to intensive care, bringing that number up to 606.

Another 76 deaths were reported on Wednesday morning, in line with the average for the previous seven days. The number of care homes with at least one infected resident increased from 640 to 669.

A few hours before the figures were published, health minister Hugo de Jonge told a Facebook Live chat session that the peak of the second wave was ‘over’, though he warned that restrictions would be necessary for several more weeks at least.

‘What we need to do in the short term is make sure we get the virus under control,’ he said. ‘But just to say: we’re definitely past the peak. The decline has set in. We just need to keep going together. The better we do it, the more things will be possible again.’