AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The coronavirus mutation first detected in Britain caused half of all new infections in the Netherlands on January 26, Netherlands Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said on Monday.
Last week, health officials said the new most contagious variant was responsible for about a third of all new infections in the Netherlands.
The “British mutation” was seen as almost 50% more contagious than the oldest variant, based on calculations until January 14, wrote De Jonge in a letter to parliament.
The Dutch government has repeatedly warned that new mutations could lead to a new wave of infections in the coming weeks, despite a steady drop in the number of COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the year.
To prevent the spread of new mutations, an evening curfew was added to a blockade already wide-ranging last week.
But as a first step towards easing the measures, the government decided on Sunday to reopen primary schools next week, as young children still played a marginal role in the transmission of the disease.
Dutch media reported on Monday that the government was also considering canceling the curfew early next week.
On Monday, the number of new coronavirus infections in the Netherlands dropped to the lowest level in 4 months, at 3,280.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, almost 1 million coronavirus infections have been reported in the Netherlands, with more than 14,000 deaths.
Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Catherine Evans and Giles Elgood