Credit: STATEC

In its latest COVID-19 report, Luxembourg's Ministry of Health confirmed that the number of COVID-19 cases was down 9% last week compared to the week before.

For the week of 4 to 10 January 2021, the number of residents testing positive for COVID-19 decreased from 1,135 to 1,036 people (down 9%) over one week. The number of identified contacts increased from 2,106 to 3,496 cases (up 66%), during this period. These figures confirm the downward trend in the number of new infections, especially as the number of PCR tests carried out last week had almost doubled compared to the week before, with 63,188 tests compared to 33,949.

As of Sunday 10 January 2021, the number of active infections stood at 2,660 (compared to 3,222 as of 3 January) and the number of people having recovered from the virus increased from 43,261 to 44,833. That being said, the number of weekly deaths rose from 22 to 26, with the average age of those who died standing at 81.

The situation in hospitals has eased further, with 76 COVID-19 patients being treated in normal care and 25 in intensive care, down from 103 and 32 respectively the previous week.

The two COVID-19 consultation centres (CCC), located in Luxembourg-Kirchberg and Esch-sur-Alzette, have recorded a total of 5,932 visits to date, including 269 visits last week, compared to 411 the week before.

The effective reproduction rate (RT eff) increased slightly from 0.92% to 1.06%. The positivity rate on all the tests carried out was 1.64% compared to 3.34% (weekly average) the previous week; the positivity rate on tests performed through a doctor's prescription (i.e. people with symptoms) was 5.67% (down from 6.86%). The incidence rate was 165 cases per 100,000 inhabitants (down from 181) over seven days.

The incidence rate continued to decline slightly in all age groups except in children aged 0-14; this development can be explained by the increase in the number of tests carried out before resuming school on 11 January 2021 as part of a special large-scale testing initiative . The 60-74 age group remained that with the lowest incidence rate, with 92 cases per 100,000 people. The average age of people diagnosed with COVID-19 remained stable at 38.4 years.

Summary of serological tests

Between 16 November 2020 and 5 January 2021, 24,000 invitations were sent out for serological tests carried out as part of the large-scale testing campaign. Of the 3,416 tests carried out, 235 tests were positive. As such, antibodies were detected in 6.88% of the people sampled.

Quarantine and isolation 

For the week of 4 to 10 January 2021, 2,279 people were in isolation (down 33% over one week) and 2,283 were in quarantine (down 37%).

Transmission

Due to the decrease in the number of reported cases, it was again possible to carry out an analysis of the sources of infection over the entire week. The family circle remained by far the most frequent context of transmission, accounting for 45.3% (or 1,036) of new COVID-19 infections. 11% were attributed to going on / returning from holiday. The source of infection was not clearly attributable in 31.9%.

Vaccinations 

For the week of 4 to 10 January 2021, 450 people received the COVID-19 vaccine, bringing the total to 1,701 people (as of 10 January). As of Wednesday 13 January 2021, the number of people vaccinated stands at 2,372.

Wastewater contamination

The latest CORONASTEP report drawn up by the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) indicated that, for the week in question, the level of SARS-CoV-2 contamination of wastewater remained high, although a downward trend was observed across almost all the treatment plants studied individually.