COVID-19 Cases Down 53% over Christmas Week

In its latest COVID-19 report, Luxembourg's Ministry of Health confirmed that the number of COVID-19 cases was down 53% during Christmas week compared to the week before. 

For the week of 21 to 27 December 2020, including the Christmas period, the number of residents testing positive for COVID-19 dropped from 2,681 to 1,267 people (down 53%) over one week. The number of identified contacts also decreased, from 8,620 to 3,207 (down 63%), during this period. The number of PCR tests carried out was also lower than the previous week, with 49,875 tests compared to 78,271.

As of Sunday 27 December 2020, the number of active infections stood at 4,906 (compared to 7,128 as of 20 December) and the number of people having recovered from the virus increased from 37,004 to 40,456. 37 new COVID-19-related deaths (compared to 38 the week before) were recorded, with the average age of those who died standing at 77.

For the week of 21 to 27 December, hospitals treated 135 COVID-19 patients in normal care (down from 181 the previous week) and 37 in intensive care (down from 43).

The effective reproduction rate (RT eff) fell from 0.87 to 0.39% and the positivity rate on all tests carried out was 2.54% compared to 3.43% (weekly average) the previous week; the positivity rate on tests performed through a doctor's prescription was 5.13%. The incidence rate was 202 cases per 100,000 inhabitants (down from 428) over seven days. With the exception of the 75+ age group, the incidence rate fell by around 50% across all ages. The average age of people diagnosed with COVID-19 rose from 38.4 to 41.1 years.

For the week of 21 to 27 December, 5,301 people were in isolation (down 23% over one week) and 4,342 were in quarantine (down 49%).

The source of infection was not clearly attributable in 27.8% of cases. According to an analysis carried out over two full days (21 and 22 December) and covering 633 cases, the family circle remained the most frequent context of COVID-19 infections (43.2%).

The country's two COVID-19 consultation centres (CCC), in Luxembourg-Kirchberg and Esch-sur-Alzette, recorded a total of 5,252 visits, including 478 visits for the week in question.

The latest CORONASTEP report drawn up by the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) indicated that, for the week of 21 to 27 December, the level of SARS-CoV-2 contamination of wastewater remained high, although a downward trend had been observed for the previous weeks.