New COVID-19 cases - Weekly review: 2 - 8 November

The number of people testing positive for COVID-19 has slightly decreased with 4,127 cases for the week of 2 to 8 November, compared to 4,700 cases for the previous week. The number of identified contacts remained stable at 12,582 The average age of those diagnosed as COVID-19 positive also remained stable at 41.4 years, compared to 41.2 in the previous week.

The number of PCR tests carried out amounts to 67.839 compared to 76.997 the previous week.

As of 8 November, the number of active infections was 9,118 (compared to 8,223 on 01.11.), while the number of people healed increased from 10,717 to 13,913. During the week in question, there were 35 new deaths related to COVID-19, compared to 14 the previous week. The average age of the deceased is 84 years.

The high number of newly positive cases has been accompanied by an increase in the number of patients in hospitals, especially in normal care, but also in intensive care. The number of hospital admissions was lower (175) than the previous week (206) and the number of discharges increased (122 compared to 96).

The effective reproduction rate (R) fell from 1.20 to 0.82 while the positivity rate on the tests carried out was 6.08% against 6.10% the previous week (average of the week).

The 7-day incidence rate is 659 per 100,000 residents, respectively 1,413 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over 14 days. Note that for the week of 26 October, the incidence rate was 750 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over 7 days. It decreased in all age groups except for the 0-14 year olds. The 45-49 age group still stands out as the most affected, followed by the 75+ age group, as well as the 15-29 age group. The incidence among young people aged 0-14 continues to rise, but is still lower than that of adults.

Quarantine and isolation

For the week of 2 to 8 November, 8,695 people were in isolation (+39% compared to the previous week) and 8,836 in quarantine (-18% compared to the previous week).

Contamination

The rate of contaminations whose source is not clearly attributable remains high. In view of the high number of new infections, the identification of sources is currently not possible for all cases. ​

Waste water monitoring in Luxembourg as part of SARS-CoV-2

During the week of 2 to 8 November, the wastewater sampling effort was considerably increased in order to get a more detailed picture of the evolution of the situation. Thus, three separate sampling days, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, were analysed during this week, with eight, eleven and nine wastewater samples respectively. Most of the treatment plants have therefore been analysed two or three times.

The latest CORONASTEP report drawn up by the LIST (Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology) shows that during the week of 2 to 8 November, SARS-CoV-2 RNA flows in wastewater were very comparable to those observed during the previous week. ​ The level of contamination by SARS-CoV-2 remains in the thirteen treatment plants analysed at very high flow values, indicating a high prevalence of the virus in wastewater. However, all the data collected this week seems to indicate a slight downward trend, although it remains very weak. ​ This trend will have to be confirmed in the coming days or weeks. All CORONASTEP reports are available on the LIST website: https://www.list.lu/en/covid-19/coronastep/.

Press release by the Ministry of Health and the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST)

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