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 5 to 11 December 2022.
During the week in question, the number of Luxembourg residents testing positive for COVID-19 increased from 1,214 to 1,440 (up 18.6%). There were an additional 980 reinfections, i.e. 40.5% of all people who tested positive compared to 784 (39.2%) the previous week.
The number of PCR tests carried out increased from 7,543 to 8,595 over one week.
27 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 3,813. Note that positive rapid antigen tests are not taken into account in the calculation of the positivity rate.
As of Sunday 11 December 2022, the number of active infections increased to 3,205 from 2,931 the previous week and the number of people having recovered from the illness rose to 304,878 (up from 303,714). The average age of people diagnosed with COVID-19 was 45.8 years.
Two new deaths related to COVID-19 were reported during the week in question. The average age of the deceased was 93 years.
In hospitals, there were 26 new admissions of confirmed COVID-19 patients to normal care (compared to 22 one week earlier). There were three patients in intensive care (up from one patient the previous week). The average age of hospitalised patients stood at 66 years.
Positivity rate & incidence rate
For the reference period, the effective reproduction rate (RT eff) increased to 1.16 (1.06 the previous week) and the positivity rate on all tests carried out rose from 16.09% to 16.75%.
The incidence rate rose to 223 cases per 100,000 residents over seven days, compared to 188 cases per 100,000 residents one week earlier. Adding reinfections, the incidence rate was 379 cases per 100,000 residents over seven days and 690 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 0-4 year-olds (95 cases per 100,000 residents), whilst the highest incidence rates were recorded among those aged 90+ (828 cases per 100,000 residents) and 85-89 year-olds (621 cases per 100,000 residents).
Vaccinations
For the week of 5 to 11 December, 1,350 vaccine doses were administered: six people received a first dose, nine received a second dose, 108 received a first additional dose compared to a complete vaccination schedule, 1,189 received a second complementary dose, 37 received a third complementary dose and one person received a fourth complementary dose, thus bringing the total number of vaccines administered as of Monday 12 December 2022 to 1,292,477.
A total of 474,872 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).
The Victor Hugo vaccination centre in Luxembourg-Limpertsberg will be temporarily closed from 24 December 2022 to 2 January 2023.
A pop-up vaccination centre will open in the Belval Plaza shopping centre (first floor) in Esch-Belval on 23 December 2022. This temporary vaccination centre will be open on Fridays from 10:00 to 16:00 (exceptionally closed on 30 December 2022).
Other vaccination-related information is available online at https://impfen.lu/en/.
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. Further information is available on the website: https://covidtracing.public.lu/home.
