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 14 to 20 November 2022.

During the week in question, the number of Luxembourg residents testing positive for COVID-19 increased from 913 to 1,057 (up 15.8%). There were an additional 622 reinfections, i.e. 37% of all people who tested positive compared to 518 (36.2%) the previous week.

The number of PCR tests carried out increased from 6,475 to 6,559 over one week.

Fifteen people reported a positive rapid antigen test for the reference week, bringing the number of positive results following such tests carried out by a healthcare professional to a total of 3,732. Note that positive rapid antigen tests are not taken into account in the calculation of the positivity rate.

As of Sunday 20 November 2022, the number of active infections increased to 2,473 from 2,315 the previous week and the number of people having recovered from the illness rose to 301,804 (up from 300,909). The average age of people diagnosed with COVID-19 was 45.9 years.

Four new deaths related to COVID-19 were reported during the week in question. The average age of the deceased was 67 years.

In hospitals, there were seventeen new admissions of confirmed COVID-19 patients to normal care (compared to fourteen one week earlier). There were two patients in intensive care. The average age of hospitalised patients stood at 61 years.

Positivity rate & incidence rate

For the reference period, the effective reproduction rate (RT eff) increased to 1.13 (0.97 the previous week) and the positivity rate on all tests carried out increased from 14.10% to 16.12%.

The incidence rate rose to 164 cases per 100,000 residents over seven days, compared to 142 cases per 100,000 residents for the previous week. Adding reinfections, the incidence rate was 261 cases per 100,000 residents over seven days and 485 cases per 100,000 residents over fourteen days. Reinfections as well as certified self-tests were included in the calculation of incidence rates by age group.

The lowest incidence rate was recorded among children aged 0-4 (86 cases per 100,000 residents), while the highest incidence rate was recorded among 90+ year-olds (425 cases per 100,000 residents).

Vaccinations: update

For the week of 14 to 20 November, 1,669 vaccine doses were administered: fifteen people received a first dose, 24 received a second dose, 119 received a first additional dose compared to a complete vaccination schedule, 1,445 received a second complementary dose, 65 received a third complementary dose and one person received a fourth complementary dose, thus bringing the total number of vaccines administered as of Monday 21 November 2022 to 1,292,074.

A total of 474,814 people have a complete vaccination schedule, which corresponds to a vaccination rate of 79% of the eligible population (i.e. those aged five and over).

Contact tracing

Contact tracing has been adapted in light of the new COVID-19 law: individuals who have tested positive should self-isolate. To receive an isolation order, complete the self-declaration form with the reference REFCP on the website: https://covid19.public.lu/en.html.  An SMS from the following dispatch number - (+352) 621-203000 - will also be sent to individuals with a positive test result.

Vaccination possibilities

All vaccination-related information can be consulted on https://impfen.lu/en/.