There was a 36% drop in the number of coronavirus cases over the past week, IC admissions were down 25% and the hospital occupancy rate fell by 35%, according to the latest weekly round up by the public health institute RIVM.

The percentage of positive tests fell to 4.3%. The RIVM also registered 17 deaths last week, compared with 21 in the previous seven day period.

However, the number of infections among people who had travelled abroad was up and these now account for 8% of all infections, compared with 5.7% last week.

In total, 471 people who had been abroad tested positive for the virus. Of them, 192 had been in Portugal and 107 in Spain. Most were young people who had been urged to take a test on their return, whether they had symptoms or not.

Many of those cases were the new, more infectious Delta variant of the virus.

The Delta variant will account for half of all infections in the Netherlands within three weeks, according to a PowerPoint presentation by Jaap van Dissel, chief virologist with the RIVM, which has been seen by broadcaster NOS.

Van Dissel will give a presentation to MPs later on Tuesday afternoon about the latest situation with regard to coronavirus in the Netherlands.

NOS says Van Dissel does not expect the variant to have a significant impact in the short term and that hospital admissions will continue to decline. This is due to both the vaccination programme and seasonal factors.

The cabinet plans to scrap most of the coronavirus rules from next weekend, including the mandatory use of face masks in shops and other indoor spaces. People will also have more leeway to go the office and attend large events.