Starting this week, the measurement results from the sewage research in various municipalities and security regions can be compared on the Coronavirus Dashboard.

The number of newly reported COVID-19 infections decreased slightly last week compared to the week before that. Reproduction number R is still entirely above 1.

In the coming weeks, RIVM will derive a temporary background value for PFAS in Dutch soil. This will be done based on measurement data from the provinces in the Netherlands.

On 16 October, farmers protested in the vicinity of RIVM in Bilthoven. The Director-General of RIVM, Hans Brug, was present at the protest site. 

There is concern about the current approach to nitrogen and the proposed measures; these concerns have been expressed in Dutch society as a whole and amongst farmers in particular.

RIVM has identified a cluster of 20 patients diagnosed with listeria over the past 2 years who are most likely to have been infected with an identical strain.