New COVID-19 cases - Weekly review: 22 - 28 November

The number of people testing positive for COVID-19 has increased from 1,897 to 2,373 cases (+25%) for the week of 22 to 28 November.

Among the 2,373 new infections, the incidence rate of positive non-vaccinated persons is 571.26 per 100,000 inhabitants and 271.77 per 100,000 inhabitants for those who had a complete vaccination.

It should be noted that unvaccinated people are more than twice as likely to be infected as people with a full vaccination pattern (see also the graph below).

Among hospital admissions, 18 out of 43 patients in normal care were not vaccinated (25 had a complete vaccination pattern), while 5 out of 11 patients of intensive care were not vaccinated.

The number of PCR tests performed during the week of 22 to 28 November has increased from 23,542 to 27,439.

60 people reported a positive rapid antigen test (RAT) for the reporting week, compared to 40 the previous week, bringing the number of positive results performed by a health-care worker to a total of 541. Since the introduction of self-tests, 804 positive results have been reported (with 0 cases for the week of 22 to 28 November). It should be noted that positive RATs are not included in the calculation of the positivity rate.

As of 28 November, the number of active infections has increased to 4,268 compared to 3,334 on 21 November, while the number of people healed increased from 82,440 to 83,868. The average age of those diagnosed positive for COVID-19 has increased from 33.2 to 33.4 years.

For the week of 22 to 28 November, 11 new deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported. The average age of the deceased is 77 years.

In the hospitals, there were 43 new admissions of confirmed COVID-19 patients in normal care, compared to 39 the previous week. In intensive care, the number of occupied beds increased from 10 to 11. The average age of patients increased from 56 to 58 years.

Positivity rate and incidence rate

For the reference period, the effective reproduction rate (R) decreased with 1.16% compared to 1.20% the previous week, while the positivity rate on all tests performed (prescriptions, contact tracing) increased from 8.06% to 8.65%.

The 7-day incidence rate increased to 374 per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 299 per 100,000 inhabitants the previous week.

Compared to the previous week, the incidence rate has increased in all age groups. The largest increase was recorded in the 75+ age group (+58%), followed by the 60-74 age group (+43%). The highest incidence rate is recorded in the 0-14 age group with 688 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The lowest incidence rate is recorded in the 75+ age group, with 171 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

Quarantine and isolation

During the week of 21 to 28 November, 4,062 people were in isolation (+22%) and 8,021 in quarantine (+9%).

Contaminations

For the 2,033 new cases (recorded between 22 and 26 November), the family circle remains the most frequent source of transmission of COVID-19 infections with 37.3%, followed by education (18.8%), mostly in primary education (12.2%), work (7.1%) and leisure activities (5.1%). The percentage of undetermined sources has decreased (24.2%).

Specific cases in the educational environment

Scenario 4 at "Raoul Follereau" school centre in Koetschette Rambrouch

In a class of cycle 2.1, 4 students tested positive on 21 November. 2 more positive cases were diagnosed on 24 November. The class has been quarantined until 26 November.

In a class of cycle 3.2, 5 positive cases were diagnosed on 22 November, 2 on 23 November and 1 on 25 November. The class has been quarantined until 30 November.

A total of 38 pupils from 15 classes and one teacher from the "Raoul Follereau" school centre tested positive between 22 and 28 November.

Scenario 4 at the primary school in Redange

On 25 November, 2 pupils tested positive in a class of cycle 3.2. On 26 November, another pupil tested positive. On 28 November, one teacher and 2 pupils tested positive. On 30 November, another pupil tested positive. The class has been quarantined until 3 November.

In total, 18 pupils in 7 classes and one teacher tested positive between 22 and 28 November in the school as a whole.

Vaccinations: update on the situation

For the week of 22 to 28 November, a total of 26,653 doses were administered. 2,274 people received a 1st dose, 4,289 a 2nd dose and 20,090 people received a complementary dose to a full vaccination, bringing the total number of vaccines administered as of 30 November to 907,033.

430,536 people have a complete vaccination pattern, which corresponds to a vaccination rate of 77.8% of the eligible population (i.e. the 12+ population).

Additional vaccination shot ("booster"): An additional dose for the entire adult population

Since the effectiveness of the vaccine against the risk of infection decreases over time, a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine ("booster") will be offered to the entire adult population. Invitations for a booster vaccination against COVID-19 will be sent by the Luxembourg Government by post to everyone who has received:

• a two-dose vaccine (Moderna, BioNTech/Pfizer): 6 months after a full vaccination
• a two-dose vaccine (AstraZeneca): 4 months after a full vaccination
• a one-dose vaccine (Johnson & Johnson): 1 month after a full vaccination

From 1 December 2021, booster vaccinations can only be administered by appointment at the 3 vaccination centres Victor Hugo, Esch-Belval and Ettelbruck. The population concerned by the booster is therefore asked to wait for the Government's invitation.

The booster dose can of course be administered, without any invitation from the Government, by the general practitioner or in a "Pop Up" vaccination spot.

"Pop Up" Vaccination: Additional vaccination facilities in shopping centres, municipalities and the Grand-Rue in Luxembourg City as part of Vaccination Week

To increase vaccination coverage, the Government has decided to facilitate access to vaccination by deploying temporary vaccination spots ("Pop Up" Vaccination) and mobile teams will be present in high-traffic areas (pedestrian zones, shopping malls, events organised by some municipalities).

The list of all new vaccination spots, which is constantly being extended and updated, can be consulted on the website covidvaccination.lu

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 21 to 28 November showed a still high prevalence of coronavirus in wastewater at national level. This week's results show again a slight increase in SARS-CoV-2 flux compared to last week, with a return to a level similar to that of December 2020. The general trend over several weeks, or even months, is clearly upwards. 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)