<p class="bodytext">An explosion struck a Dutch coronavirus test centre in a "cowardly act of destruction" on Wednesday, shattering windows but causing no injuries, police and government officials said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The early morning blast in the town of Bovenkarspel, 60 kilometres (40 miles) north of the capital Amsterdam, was caused by a metal cylinder left outside the building, police said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The incident comes weeks after another testing centre was burned down during violent riots across the Netherlands against a coronavirus curfew.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Police were called at 6.55 am by a security guard from the corona test centre to say that an explosion had taken place. He had heard a loud bang and then saw that several windows of the building had broken," a police statement said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Outside the building was a metal cylinder that had exploded. No one was injured in the incident."</p>.<p class="bodytext">North Holland police spokesman Menno Hartenberg said the explosion appeared to be deliberate.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It's not possible that this was by accident, the object was placed there and exploded near the front of the test centre," Hartenberg told AFP by telephone.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We are not ruling anything out and can't say anything about a motive, an investigation is underway."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Hartenberg added: "It was a metal object somewhere between a tube and a canister."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Police forensics officers in white overalls were conducting a fingertip search of the area, which was cordoned off, an AFP journalist at the scene said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Dutch Health Minister Hugo de Jonge condemned the attack, saying public health authorities were "terribly shocked".</p>.<p class="bodytext">"For over a year now, we have relied heavily on the people on the front lines. And then this. Insane," de Jonge said on Twitter.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Dutch GGD public health department said it was "horrified" by the "aggressive and intimidating" incident.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Our people must be able to do this crucial work safely. This cowardly act of destruction affects us all," GGD national president Andre Rouvoet said on Twitter.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A bomb squad was sent to determine whether any explosive material remained at the scene, public television network NOS reported.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The part of the Netherlands in which Bovenkarspel is located is currently suffering one of the country's most serious outbreaks, with 81 infections per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to a national average of 27.2, NOS said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Netherlands has recorded more than one million coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic and over 15,000 deaths.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Some 1.3 million people have received at least one dose of vaccine.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In January a Covid testing centre was set on fire in the conservative protestant fishing village of Urk as protests broke out over the start of an overnight curfew in the Netherlands.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Netherlands suffered several nights of rioting, the most violent the country has seen in decades.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The blast in Bovenkarspel came as the Dutch government on Wednesday began easing its toughest anti-virus measures since the pandemic began, ahead of elections in two weeks.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Hairdressers and other non-contact professions were allowed to reopen after several months of closure.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Anger over the Covid measures has been growing in the Netherlands, as well as support for conspiracy theories about the virus.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A Dutch court last month backed a case by a Covid-sceptic group saying that the curfew was illegal and must be lifted, although an appeals court later dismissed the ruling.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Wednesday's explosion was also not the first case of suspected violence linked to the pandemic around the world.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In January, a man was arrested in Wales after a suspect package was sent to a Covid-19 vaccination production site, forcing a partial evacuation.</p>.<p class="bodytext">According to a report published Tuesday by a health NGO, health workers battling the coronavirus were subjected to more than 400 acts of violence related to Covid-19 worldwide in 2020.</p>
<p class="bodytext">An explosion struck a Dutch coronavirus test centre in a "cowardly act of destruction" on Wednesday, shattering windows but causing no injuries, police and government officials said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The early morning blast in the town of Bovenkarspel, 60 kilometres (40 miles) north of the capital Amsterdam, was caused by a metal cylinder left outside the building, police said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The incident comes weeks after another testing centre was burned down during violent riots across the Netherlands against a coronavirus curfew.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Police were called at 6.55 am by a security guard from the corona test centre to say that an explosion had taken place. He had heard a loud bang and then saw that several windows of the building had broken," a police statement said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Outside the building was a metal cylinder that had exploded. No one was injured in the incident."</p>.<p class="bodytext">North Holland police spokesman Menno Hartenberg said the explosion appeared to be deliberate.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It's not possible that this was by accident, the object was placed there and exploded near the front of the test centre," Hartenberg told AFP by telephone.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We are not ruling anything out and can't say anything about a motive, an investigation is underway."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Hartenberg added: "It was a metal object somewhere between a tube and a canister."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Police forensics officers in white overalls were conducting a fingertip search of the area, which was cordoned off, an AFP journalist at the scene said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Dutch Health Minister Hugo de Jonge condemned the attack, saying public health authorities were "terribly shocked".</p>.<p class="bodytext">"For over a year now, we have relied heavily on the people on the front lines. And then this. Insane," de Jonge said on Twitter.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Dutch GGD public health department said it was "horrified" by the "aggressive and intimidating" incident.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Our people must be able to do this crucial work safely. This cowardly act of destruction affects us all," GGD national president Andre Rouvoet said on Twitter.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A bomb squad was sent to determine whether any explosive material remained at the scene, public television network NOS reported.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The part of the Netherlands in which Bovenkarspel is located is currently suffering one of the country's most serious outbreaks, with 81 infections per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to a national average of 27.2, NOS said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Netherlands has recorded more than one million coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic and over 15,000 deaths.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Some 1.3 million people have received at least one dose of vaccine.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In January a Covid testing centre was set on fire in the conservative protestant fishing village of Urk as protests broke out over the start of an overnight curfew in the Netherlands.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Netherlands suffered several nights of rioting, the most violent the country has seen in decades.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The blast in Bovenkarspel came as the Dutch government on Wednesday began easing its toughest anti-virus measures since the pandemic began, ahead of elections in two weeks.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Hairdressers and other non-contact professions were allowed to reopen after several months of closure.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Anger over the Covid measures has been growing in the Netherlands, as well as support for conspiracy theories about the virus.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A Dutch court last month backed a case by a Covid-sceptic group saying that the curfew was illegal and must be lifted, although an appeals court later dismissed the ruling.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Wednesday's explosion was also not the first case of suspected violence linked to the pandemic around the world.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In January, a man was arrested in Wales after a suspect package was sent to a Covid-19 vaccination production site, forcing a partial evacuation.</p>.<p class="bodytext">According to a report published Tuesday by a health NGO, health workers battling the coronavirus were subjected to more than 400 acts of violence related to Covid-19 worldwide in 2020.</p>