COVID-4 cases - Weekly review: 4 - 10 April 2022

The number of people testing positive for COVID-19 has decreased from 8,110 to 6,172 cases (-24%) for the week of 4 to 10 April 2022.

The number of PCR tests performed during the week of 4 to 10 April has decreased from 22,274 to 17,789.

153 people reported a positive rapid antigen test (RAT) for the reporting week, compared to 86 the previous week, bringing the number of positive results performed by a health-care worker to a total of 2,631. It should be noted that positive RATs are not included in the calculation of the positivity rate.

As of 10 April, the number of active infections has decreased to 14,537 compared to 18,120 on 3 April, while the number of people healed increased from 200,229 to 209,975. The average age of those diagnosed as positive for COVID-19 is 41.1 years.

For the week of 4 to 10 April, 9 new deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported. The average age of the deceased is 84 years.

In the hospitals, there were 28 new admissions of confirmed COVID-19 patients in normal care, compared to 24 the previous week. In intensive care, the number of occupied beds increased from 3 to 4. The average age of hospitalised patients is 59 years.

Positivity rate and incidence rate

For the reference period, the effective reproduction rate (R) increased, with 0.83% compared to 0.79% the previous week, while the positivity rate on all tests performed (prescriptions, contact tracing) decreased from 36.41% to 34.70%.

The 7-day incidence rate decreased to 972 per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 1,278 per 100,000 inhabitants the previous week.

Re-infections as well as certified self-tests in schools were included in the calculation of incidence rates. Compared to the previous week, the incidence rate has increased in all age groups.

The largest decrease was recorded in the 0-14 age group (-57%), followed by the 15-29 age group (-32%). In the week of 4 to 10 April, school-certified self-tests accounted for 0.1% of cases among 0-14 year olds and no cases among 15-29 year olds.

The lowest incidence rate is recorded in the 0-14 age group (835 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), while the highest incidence rate is recorded in the 30-44 age group with 1,408 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

Contaminations

As the number of new infections remains high, the identification of sources is currently not possible for all cases. Among the 7,187 resident cases registered in the week of 4 10 April, only cases with a result date of 4 or 8 April were called. The cases were examined and the source was determined.

For the other days of the week it was decided to review all the 60+ cases as well as all the residents and staff of the care facilities. A total of 2,527 cases called were reviewed and the source was determined.

The family circle remains the most frequent source of transmission of COVID-19 infections (31.1%), followed by leisure activities (7.0%), travel abroad (6.2%), work (6.2%) and education (4.6%). The percentage of undetermined sources has decreased (25.6%).

Vaccinations: update on the situation

For the week of 4 to 10 April, a total of 1,339 doses were administered. 112 people received a 1st dose, 252 a 2nd dose, 819 people received one complementary dose to a full vaccination, and 156 received  a second complementary dose to a full vaccination, bringing the total number of vaccines administered as of 12 April to 1,277,243.

472,599 people have a complete vaccination pattern, which corresponds to a vaccination rate of 78.6% of the eligible population (i.e. the 5+ population).

Closure of some vaccination spots from 16 April 2022

Vaccination centres Esch-Belval and Ettelbruck

  • The Esch-Belval and Ettelbruck vaccination centres  will be closed from Saturday 16 April at 1pm.

"Pop Up" Vaccination:

  • Pop-ups in shopping centres will be closed after Saturday 16 April.
  • The Pop-up Central station Luxembourg will close its doors after Friday 15 April.

The list of vaccination centres, physicians and pharmacies participating in the vaccination campaign is available at covidvaccination.lu.

"Impf-Bus on tour" 

The closure of the Pop-ups will be complemented by the reintroduction of the vaccination bus in April, which will serve, among others, shopping centre car parks, commercial zones and various events, starting next Tuesday.

The stops of the "Impf-Bus on tour"  will also be announced on covidvaccination.lu.

Please note that the vaccination can be done without appointment (identity card and CNS card required). The type of vaccination offered is  the initial vaccination and the booster dose.

The evolution of the variants

Variant sequencing data are published every Friday on the website of the National Health Laboratory (Laboratoire national de Santé, LNS) https://lns.lu/en/publications-en/.

Wastewater monitoring in Luxembourg as part of SARS-CoV-2

According to the latest CORONASTEP report drawn up by the LIST (Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology), the contamination level of the 13 wastewater treatment plants analysed during the 14th week of 2022 still shows a very high prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater at national level. The SARS-CoV-2 levels measured this week are very similar to those observed at the end of last week. Similar trends were observed for the different wastewater treatment plants analysed, with a stabilisation of wastewater contamination in SARS-CoV-2 at a high level.

All CORONASTEP reports are available on the LIST website: https://www.list.lu/en/covid-19/coronastep/.

 

Press release by the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth, the National Health Laboratory (LNS) and the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) 

Last update