Explosion at Dutch Covid test centre appears intentional, police say

An explosion on Wednesday rattled a coronavirus testing centre north of Amsterdam, shattering windows but causing no injuries in what police called an intentional attack.

An explosives team was on site in the town of Bovenkarspel, 55 km (35 miles) north of the capital, to examine the device, police in the province of North Holland said.

The metal remains of the explosive, about 10 cm by 10 cm (4 inches by 4 inches) in size, were later found in front of the building.

A security guard who was inside the testing centre at the time was not injured, national broadcaster NOS reported.

The incident comes shortly before national elections on March 17, widely seen as a referendum on the government's handling of the pandemic.

Another test location was burned down during several days of rioting in January sparked by the introduction of a night-time curfew from 9 pm to 4.30 am.

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.

(with inputs)