Sharp increase in people getting tested for STIs

The number of people who had themselves tested for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) last year increased by 30 percent to 138,436, the RIVM Health Institute reports. That is still lower than in 2019, the year before the Covid-19 outbreak.

The increase is mainly due to the fact that less care was available at Sexual Health Centers (CSGs) in 2020 as a result of the pandemic. In 2021, more people could make use of this care again than in the previous year.

More than 17 percent of women who had themselves tested received a positive result, while nearly a quarter of men were positive. "The percentage of positive tests was lower than in 2020 but still higher than in 2019, especially among heterosexual men and men who have sex with men," according to the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment.