New COVID-19 cases - Weekly review: 31 January - 6 February 2022

The number of people testing positive for COVID-19 has decreased from 14,918 to 11,003 cases (-26%) for the week of 31 January to 6 February.

Among the 11,003 new infections, the incidence rate of positive non-vaccinated persons is 2,580 per 100,000 inhabitants and 1,389 per 100,000 inhabitants for those who had a complete vaccination.

Among hospital admissions, 23 out of 73 patients in normal care were not vaccinated (50 had a complete vaccination), while 8 out of 11 patients of intensive care were not vaccinated.

The number of PCR tests performed during the week of 31 January to 6 February has decreased from 39,142 to 32,224.

151 people reported a positive rapid antigen test (RAT) for the reporting week, compared to 239 the previous week, bringing the number of positive results performed by a health-care worker to a total of 1,909. It should be noted that positive RATs are not included in the calculation of the positivity rate.

As of 6 February, the number of active infections has decreased to 26,212 compared to 30,772 on 30 January, while the number of people healed increased from 126,261 to 141,812. The average age of those diagnosed as positive for COVID-19 is 29.6 years.

For the week of 31 January to 6 February, 12 new deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported. The average age of the deceased is 81 years.

In the hospitals, there were 73 new admissions of confirmed COVID-19 patients in normal care, compared to 63 the previous week. In intensive care, the number of occupied beds increased from 10 to 11. The average age of hospitalised patients is 51 years.

Positivity rate and incidence rate

For the reference period, the effective reproduction rate (R) decreased, with 0.72% compared to 0.89% the previous week, while the positivity rate on all tests performed (prescriptions, contact tracing) decreased from 38.11% to 34.15%.

The 7-day incidence rate decreased to 1,733 per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 2,350 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 decreased in all age groups. The lowest incidence rate is recorded in the 75+ age group (695 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), while the highest incidence rate is recorded in the 0-14 age group with 4,082 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

Quarantine and isolation

During the week of 31 January to 6 February, 35,102 people were in isolation (-2%) and 6,142 in quarantine (-40%).

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 40.1%, followed by work (4.7%), care sector (4.1%), leisure activities (2.9%) and travel abroad (2.7%). The percentage of undetermined sources has decreased (39.9%).

Specific cases in the educational environment

During the week of 31 January  to 6 February 2022, 31 classes in 12 primary  schools and 9 secondary schools were affected by a scenario 4 with more than 5 positive cases in the class.

Vaccinations: update on the situation

For the week of 31 January to 6 February, a total of 16,636 doses were administered. 969 people received a 1st dose, 3,074 a 2nd dose and 11,824 people received a complementary dose to a full vaccination, bringing the total number of vaccines administered as of 9 February to 1,247,479.

463,481 people have a complete vaccination, which corresponds to a vaccination rate of 77% of the eligible population (i.e. the 5+ population).

4th dose for highly vulnerable people

Immunocompromised persons (organ or haematopoietic stem cell transplants, patients undergoing lymphopenic chemotherapy or immunosuppressive therapy, or those with primary immune deficiency) and patients on dialysis aged 18 years and over can get a 4th dose of vaccine. This should be done at the earliest 3 months after the last injection.

The following options are available for obtaining an appointment for the 4th dose:

  • The person can directly receive their 4th dose via their general practitioner.
  • The person can make an appointment at a vaccination centre. The physician (general practitioner or specialist) registers the person on Myguichet as vulnerable, and the person will be contacted by the Vaccination Helpdesk to make an appointment at a vaccination centre.

 "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/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 fourth week of 2022 still shows a very high prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater at national level. A slight decrease in the flow of SARS-CoV-2 seems to have started this week, although the current level of SARS-CoV-2 is still of the same level as that observed in October 2020. This decline is also noticeable in most stages.

The results of the next few weeks will be decisive in confirming this downward trend.

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)

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