AMSTERDAM

An explosion damaged the windows of a COVID-19 testing center in the northern Netherlands, the Dutch police said Wednesday.

The test center in the town of Bovenkarspel was not open at the time of the explosion, said the police, adding that it took place at 6.55 a.m. local time (0555GMT).

In light of suspicions that the explosion was a bomb attack targeting the center, the police blocked the street to search for other possible explosives in the area.

In January, rioters opposed to the government’s virus lockdown torched a COVID-19 testing center in the northern town of Urk, some 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) from Bovenkarspel, across the inland bay of Lake IJssel.

*Writing by Busra Nur Cakmak