Luxembourg's Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth, together with the National Health Laboratory (Laboratoire National de Santé - LNS) and the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), have issued a COVID-19 report for the period from 18 to 24 April 2022.
During the week in question, the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 decreased from 5,403 to 4,311 (down 20%). Among these new infections, the incidence rate was 845 per 100,000 unvaccinated people and 3,466 per 100,000 fully vaccinated people.
In hopsitals, there were 24 new admissions of confirmed COVID-19 patients in normal care, down from 29 the previous week. In intensive care, the number of occupied beds decreased from three to one. The average age of hospitalised patients was 64 years.
The number of PCR tests performed during the week of 11 to 17 April 2022 decreased from 15,337 to 12,910. 58 people reported a positive rapid antigen test for the reference week, compared to 125 during the previous week, bringing the number of positive results following a certified rapid antigen test (carried out by a healthcare professional) to a total of 2,814. Note that positive rapid antigen tests are not taken into account in the calculation of the positivity rate.
As of 24 April 2022, the number of active COVID-19 infections decreased to 10,005 (from 111,848 on 17 April 2022) and the number of people having recovered from the illness rose to 224,209 (from 218,062). The average age of people diagnosed with COVID-19 was 40.3 years old.
Seven new deaths related to COVID-19 were reported during the reference week. The average age of the deceased was 91 years old.
Positivity rate & incidence rate
During the week in question, the effective reproduction rate (RT eff) decreased to 0.90 (from 0.93 the previous week) and the positivity rate on all tests carried out decreased from 35.23% to 33.39%.
The incidence rate decreased to 668 cases per 100,000 people over seven days, down from 851 cases per 100,000 people the previous week.
Reinfections as well as certified self-tests were included in the calculation of incidence rates. Compared to the previous week, the incidence rate decreased across all age groups. The greatest decrease was recorded among over 75 year olds (down 36%). The lowest incidence rate was recorded among 60-74 year olds (532 cases per 100,000 inhabitants) whilst the highest incidence rate was recorded among 30-44 year olds (970 cases per 100,000 inhabitants).
Transmission
With the number of cases remaining high, it is difficult to follow up every case and to determine the probable source of infection. Of the 5,105 resident cases recorded during the week of 18 to 24 April 2022, only cases called with a result date of 18, 19 and 21 April have been reviewed and the source has been determined.
For the other days of the week, all cases for people aged 60 year or over as well as all residents and staff of nursing homes were reviewed. A total of 1,468 case calls were reviewed and the source was determined.
The family circle was the most frequent source of infection (31%) followed by travel abroad (20%), leisure activities (6%), the workplace (5%) and the help and care sector (5%). The share of undetermined sources increased to 28%.
Vaccinations: update
For the week of 18 to 24 April 2022, a total of 980 vaccine doses were administered. 67 people received a first dose, 140 received a second dose, 424 people received a first complementary dose (in addition to a full vaccinations schedule) and 349 received a second complementary dose, bringing the total number of vaccines administered as of 26 April 2022 to 1,279,091.
472,962 people have been fully vaccinated, which corresponds to a vaccination rate of 78.7% of the eligible population (i.e. those aged five and over).
