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 published a COVID-19 report for the week of 12 to 18 September 2022.

During the week in question, the number of Luxembourg residents testing positive for COVID-19 increased from 757 to 999 (up 32%).

In addition, 423 people were re-infected, representing 29.7% of all those who tested positive, compared to 319 (29.6%) the week before.

The number of PCR tests carried out increased from 5,144 to 5,653 over one week.

Nineteen people reported a positive rapid antigen test for the reference week, compared to sixteen the week before, bringing the number of positive results following such tests carried out by a healthcare professional to a total of 3,486. Note that positive rapid antigen tests are not taken into account in the calculation of the positivity rate.

As of Sunday 18 September 2022, the number of active infections increased to 2,066 from 1,795 the previous week and the number of people having recovered from the illness rose from 285,245 to 285,971. The average age of people diagnosed with COVID-19 was 42.3 years.

Two new deaths related to COVID-19 were reported during the week in question. The age of the deceased is 78 years.

In hospitals, there were six new admissions of confirmed COVID-19 patients to normal care (five one week earlier). There was one COVID-19 patient in intensive care. The average age of hospitalised patients stood at 49 years.

Positivity rate & incidence rate

For the reference period, the effective reproduction rate (RT eff) increased to 1.15% (1.08% the previous week) and the positivity rate on all tests carried out increased from 14.72% to 17.67%.

The incidence rate increased to 155 cases per 100,000 residents over seven days, compared to 117 cases per 100,000 residents for the previous week.

Reinfections as well as certified self-tests were included in the calculation of incidence rates, increased across in the age groups 0-14 year olds (up 45%), 45-59 year olds (up 3%), 60-74 year olds (up 85%) and 75 years or older (up 171%). A decrease is recorded in the age group 15-29 year olds (down 1%) and 30-44 year olds (down 16%)

The lowest incidence rate was recorded among people aged 75 years or older (129 cases per 100,000 residents), while the highest incidence rate was recorded among 30-44 year olds (303 cases per 100,000 residents).

Transmission

Among the 1,429 resident cases from the week of 12 to 18 September 2022, 980 were reviewed and the source determined until 15 September 2022. During the reference week, traveling abroad was the most frequent source of transmission (27%), followed by family circle (21%) and leisure activities (11%). The share of undetermined sources was 31%.

Vaccinations: update

For the week of 12 to 18 September, 1,428 vaccine doses were administered: 23 people received a first dose, 33 received a second dose, 103 received a first additional dose compared to a complete vaccination schedule, 1,251 received a second complementary dose and eighteen received a third complementary dose, bringing the total number of vaccines administered as of 18 September 2022 to 1,290,474.

474,598 people have a complete vaccination schedule, which corresponds to a vaccination rate of 79.0% of the eligible population (i.e. those aged five and over).

People wishing to be vaccinated are also asked to make use of the vaccination facilities offered by GPs, pharmacies and the "Impf-Bus" vaccination bus. Further information: www.impfen.lu.