Explosion at Dutch COVID-19 test centre appears intentional, police say

Dutch police on Wednesday said a coronavirus testing centre north of Amsterdam appeared to have been intentionally targeted after an explosion went off at the facility before it opened.

The blast in the town of Bovenkarspel, 55 km north of the capital, shattered windows but caused no injuries, police from the province of North Holland said in a statement.

They said they had cordoned off the area to investigate.

The incident comes shortly before national elections on March 17 widely seen as a referendum on the government's handling of the pandemic. Prime Minister Mark Rutte's conservative VVD Party is likely to remain the largest, according to opinion polls.

The metal remains of the explosive, about 10 cm by 10 cm in size, were found on the front of the building and "must have been placed" there, police spokesman Menno Hartenberg told Reuters.

"We don't know yet exactly what exploded, the explosives experts must first investigate," Hartenberg said.

"What we're saying is that something like that doesn't just happen by accident, it has to be laid," the spokesman said.

The region around Bovenkarspel, a rural town, is currently suffering one of the Netherlands' worst COVID-19 outbreaks, with 181 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, compared with around 27 per 100,000 nationally. At least one hospital has been forced to send patients to other provinces due to lack of space in its intensive care units.

Wednesday marks the first day in several months in which lockdown measures in the Netherlands have been slightly eased, with hairdressers reopening and non-essential stores allowed to accept a small number of visitors by appointment. A night-time curfew from 9:00 pm to 4:30 am remains in place.

Anger against healthcare authorities has increased since the start of 2021 and the head of the country's National Institute for Health is now accompanied by a security detail to public appearances.

A security guard was inside the testing centre when the explosive went off, but was not injured, national broadcaster NOS reported.