In its latest COVID-19 report, Luxembourg's Ministry of Health confirmed that most recent COVID-19 infections could still be traced back to household transmission.
For the week of 19 to 25 October 2020, the number of residents testing positive for COVID-19 was up 365% with 3,387 cases, compared to 1,280 cases the previous week. The number of contacts also reached a very high level with 9,980 compared to 7,878 contacts identified previously (up 27%). The number of PCR tests carried out on residents was 60,669 compared to 47,939 the week before.
As of Sunday 25 October 2020, the number of active infections stood at 4,682 (compared to 2,112 as of 18 October) and the number of people having recovered from the virus increased from 8,765 to 9,570. Twelve new deaths related to COVID-19 were recorded.
The rise in the number of people testing positive for the virus was accompanied by an increase in patients in hospitals. Most patients required normal (rather than intensive) care, as explained by their age. Last week, the average age of people diagnosed with COVID-19 increased to 40.3 years.
The effective reproduction rate (RT eff) increased from 1.17 to 1.52 and the positivity rate on the tests carried out was 5.59% compared to 2.67% (weekly average) the previous week. The seven-day incidence rate was 541 per 100,000 inhabitants, respectively 745 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over fourteen days.
The evolution of the incidence rate over the last nine weeks showed a recent increase across all age groups. The 15-29 age group continued to be the most affected, followed by the 30-59 age group. The incidence in young people aged 0-14 remained about half as high as that in adults, although a sharp increase was observed in people aged 75 and over.
Last week, 3,948 people were in quarantine (up 23% compared to the previous week) whilst 3,239 were in isolation (up 93%).
Household transmission remained the most frequent source of infection, accounting for 27.6% of new cases last week. The proportion of cases in the healthcare sector is also increasing.
Regarding the presence of the virus in wastewater in Luxembourg, the latest CORONASTEP report by the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) revealed that the national level of SARS-CoV-2 contamination practically quadrupled in the country's wastewater treatment plants during the week of 19 to 25 October 2020, compared to the peak in late March. The increase in daily SARS-CoV-2 flows was observed at all the monitored wastewater treatment plants, with a lower intensity in Wiltz.
