New COVID-19 cases - Weekly review: 17 - 23 January 2022

The number of people testing positive for COVID-19 has increased from 11,734 to 15,293 cases (+30%) for the week of 17 to 23 January. 

Among the 15,293 new infections, the incidence rate of positive non-vaccinated persons is 3,769 per 100,000 inhabitants and 1,831 per 100,000 inhabitants for those who had a complete vaccination.

Among hospital admissions, 20 out of 58 patients in normal care were not vaccinated (38 had a complete vaccination), while 10 out of 14 patients of intensive care were not vaccinated.

The number of PCR tests performed during the week of 17 to 23 January has increased from 37,818 to 42,151.

312 people reported a positive rapid antigen test (RAT) for the reporting week, compared to 152 the previous week, bringing the number of positive results performed by a health-care worker to a total of 1,519. It should be noted that positive RATs are not included in the calculation of the positivity rate. 

As of 23 January, the number of active infections has increased to 27,370 compared to 22,433 on 16 January, while the number of people healed increased from 104,403 to 114,752. The average age of those diagnosed as positive for COVID-19 is 28.1 years.

For the week of 17 to 23 January, 7 new deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported. The average age of the deceased is 75 years.

In the hospitals, there were 58 new admissions of confirmed COVID-19 patients in normal care, compared to 48 the previous week. The number of occupied beds in the intensive care unit decreased from 19 to 14. The average age of hospitalised patients is 47 years.

Positivity rate and incidence rate

For the reference period, the effective reproduction rate (R) increased, with 1.26% compared to 1.03% the previous week, while the positivity rate on all tests performed (prescriptions, contact tracing) increased from 31.03% to 36.28%.

The 7-day incidence rate increased to 2,409 per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 1,848 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 (+91%), followed by the 60-74 age group (+36%). The lowest incidence rate is recorded in the 60-74 age group (696 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), while the highest incidence rate is recorded in the 0-14 age group with 5,320 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

Quarantine and isolation

During the week of 17 to 23 January, 29,701 people were in isolation (+31%) and 14,999 in quarantine (+71%).

Contaminations

In view of the high number of new infections, the identification of sources is currently not possible for all cases.

The family circle remains the most frequent source of transmission of COVID-19 infections with 42.8%, followed by work (7.8%), care sector (4.6%) and travel abroad (3.8%). The percentage of undetermined sources has decreased (29.7%).

Specific cases in the educational environment

During the week of 17 to 23 January 2022, 68 classes in 43 primary schools and 8 secondary schools were affected by a scenario 4 with more than 5 positive cases in the class. The Health Inspectorate has quarantined students who are neither vaccinated nor recovered.

Vaccinations: update on the situation

For the week of 17 to 23 January, a total of 40,658 doses were administered. 2,114 people received a 1st dose, 3,080 a 2nd dose and 35,464 people received a complementary dose to a full vaccination, bringing the total number of vaccines administered as of 25 January to 1,212,952.

457,643 people have a complete vaccination, which corresponds to a vaccination rate of 76.2% of the eligible population (i.e. the 5+ population).

Calculation of doses on vaccination certificates

For vaccines requiring an initial full 2-dose vaccination pattern, the certificate is calculated as follows:

• 1/2 for the first dose, then 2/2 for the 2 doses i.e. the initial full vaccination pattern.
• 3/3 indicates the administration of a booster dose after completion of an initial full 2-dose vaccination pattern. Then, the doses (X) administered following the first booster dose are indicated by (3+X)/(3+X) (e.g. 4/4 if the person received a 4th dose).

For vaccines requiring an initial single-dose vaccination pattern (e.g. Johnson & Johnson) the certificate is calculated as follows:

• 1/1 for the single-dose
• 2/1 indicates the administration of a booster dose after completion of an initial full single-dose vaccination pattern. Then, the doses (X) administered following the first booster dose are indicated by (2+X)/(1) (e.g. 3/ 1for people who have had a 2nd booster dose following a primary vaccination with Johnson & Johnson).

In fact, an initial vaccination with a single dose of Janssen vaccine (Johnson & Johnson) followed by an extra dose of either Janssen vaccine or an mRNA vaccine (Comirnaty or Spikevax) is considered as a complete vaccination with booster in Luxembourg and thus fulfills the CovidCheck requirements.

In order to meet the needs of people travelling to European countries that now require a 3-dose vaccination, even in the case of initial vaccination with Janssen vaccine (e.g. Germany), the government has decided to offer this alternative pattern to those who wish to obtain it on a voluntary basis.

People wishing to carry out this vaccination pattern, and thus obtain a booster vaccination at least 3 months after the 2nd injection, can go without an appointment to a "Pop Up" vaccination point, or register via https://www.covidvaccination.lu in order to receive an invitation to make an appointment at one of the 3 vaccination centres. The procedure will be operational from Thursday 27 January 2022.

CovidCheck 2G+ system

Since 11.01.2022, the following people are exempt from testing under the CovidCheck 2G+ scheme:

• those who completed their vaccination less than 180 days ago,
• those who have received a booster vaccination,
• those with a recovery certificate.

Validity period of vaccination certificates

The general validity period of the vaccination certificates is set at 270 days (9 months) from the date when the vaccination is considered complete.

For the time being, the validity of the vaccination certificates issued following the booster vaccination has not been determined.

"Pop Up" Vaccination: Lëtzebuerg léisst sech impfen

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 is continuously updated and can be consulted on 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

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 3rd week of 2022 still shows a very high prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater at national level. The current level of SARS-CoV-2 in the wastewater treatment plants has now exceeded that observed in October 2020, which was so far the highest level measured over the whole period analysed (March 2020 - January 2022). The general trend over several weeks, or even months, is clearly upwards.

At the level of the different treatment plants analysed, a very similar trend is observed, with SARS-CoV-2 levels comparable to the highest values observed, for almost all the treatment plants. 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)