The number of people testing positive for COVID-19 has increased from 1,211 to 1,444 cases (+19%) for the week of 8 to 14 November.
Among the 1,444 new infections, the incidence rate of positive non-vaccinated persons is 356.49 per 100,000 inhabitants and 157.23 per 100,000 inhabitants for those who had a complete vaccination pattern.
It should be noted that unvaccinated persons are more than twice at risk of being infected than persons with a complete vaccination schedule.
Among hospital admissions, 17 out of 31 patients in normal care were not vaccinated (14 had a complete vaccination pattern), while 8 out of 14 patients of intensive care were not vaccinated.
The number of PCR tests performed during the week of 8 to 14 November has increased from 17,316 to 18,904.
23 people reported a positive rapid antigen test (RAT) for the reporting week, compared to 26 the previous week, bringing the number of positive results performed by a health-care worker to a total of 441. Since the introduction of self-tests, 804 positive results have been reported (with 0 cases for the week of 8 to 14 November). It should be noted that positive RATs are not included in the calculation of the positivity rate.
As of 14 November, the number of active infections has increased to 2,608 compared to 2,285 on 7 October, while the number of people healed increased from 80,157 to 81,270. The average age of those diagnosed positive for COVID-19 has slightly decreased from 36.1 to 35.4 years.
For the week of 8 to 14 November, 8 new deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported. The average age of the deceased is 79 years.
In the hospitals, there were 31 new admissions of confirmed COVID-19 patients in normal care, compared to 29 the previous week. In intensive care, the number of occupied beds increased from 13 to 14. The average age of hospitalised patients decreased from 57 to 58 years.
Positivity rate and incidence rate
For the reference period, the effective reproduction rate (R) decreased with 1.01% compared to 1.11% the previous week, while the positivity rate on all tests performed (prescriptions, contact tracing) increased from 6.99% to 7.64%.
The 7-day incidence rate increased to 228 per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 191 per 100,000 inhabitants the previous week.
Compared to the previous week, the incidence rate has increased in all age groups, except in the 75+ age group. The largest increase was recorded in the 30-44 age group (+32%), followed by the 45-59 age group (+23%) and the 15-29 age group (+21%). The highest incidence rate is recorded in the 0-14 age group with 339 cases per 100.000 inhabitants. The lowest incidence rates are recorded in the 75+ age group.
Quarantine, isolation and contaminations
For technical reasons, data on the number of contacts, the number of contacts in quarantine, the number of cases in isolation and the sources of contamination were not available in time for this weekly report.
Contaminations
For technical reasons, data on the number of contacts, the number of contacts in quarantine and the number of cases in isolation were not available in time for this weekly report.
Vaccinations: update on the situation
For the week of 8 to 14 October, a total of 13,387 doses were administered. 3.396 people received a 1st dose, 2,491 a 2nd dose and 7,500 people received a complementary dose to a full vaccination, bringing the total number of vaccines administered as of 17 November to 864,030.
422,453 people are fully vaccinated, which corresponds to a vaccination rate of 76.4% of the eligible population (i.e. the 12+ population).
Additional vaccination dose ("booster")
Any person eligible for an additional vaccination dose ("booster" dose) in complement to his or her initial vaccination will receive an invitation to be vaccinated at the latest one week after the expiry of the 6-month period (in the case of initial vaccination with AstraZeneca, Moderna or BioNTech/Pfizer) or one month (in the case of vaccination with Janssen).
The persons concerned will receive an invitation from the Luxembourg Government by post to be vaccinated with detailed instructions on how to make an appointment at one of the 3 vaccination centres or with their doctor.
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/departement/department-of-microbiology/revilux/.
Wastewater monitoring in Luxembourg as part of SARS-CoV-2
The level of contamination of the 13 sampled wastewater treatment plants studied by the LIST (Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology) during the week of 8 to 14 November showed a still high prevalence of coronavirus in wastewater at national level. This week's results show a slight increase in SARS-CoV-2 flows, with a return to a level similar to that observed a fortnight ago. The general trend over several weeks, or even months, is clearly upwards. However, this increase is rather slow and gradual compared to previous waves. A general upward trend is also observed at regional level for most of the treatment plants analysed, with no regional disparities.
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)