The number of people testing positive for COVID-19 has decreased from 5,403 to 4,311 cases (-20%) for the week of 18 to 24 April 2022.
The number of PCR tests performed during the week of 18 to 24 April has decreased from 15,338 to 12,910.
58 people reported a positive rapid antigen test (RAT) for the reporting week, compared to 125 the previous week, bringing the number of positive results performed by a health-care worker to a total of 2,814. It should be noted that positive RATs are not included in the calculation of the positivity rate.
As of 24 April, the number of active infections has decreased to 10,005 compared to 11,848 on 17 April, while the number of people healed increased from 218,062 to 224,209. The average age of those diagnosed as positive for COVID-19 is 40.3 years.
For the week of 18 to 24 April, 7 new deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported. The average age of the deceased is 91 years.
In the hospitals, there were 24 new admissions of confirmed COVID-19 patients in normal care, compared to 29 the previous week. The number of occupied beds in the intensive care unit decreased from 3 to 1. The average age of hospitalised patients is 64 years.
Positivity rate and incidence rate
For the reference period, the effective reproduction rate (R) decreased, with 0.90% compared to 0.93% the previous week, while the positivity rate on all tests performed (prescriptions, contact tracing) decreased from 35.23% to 33.39%.
The 7-day incidence rate decreased to 668 per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 851 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 increased in all age groups, except in the 0-14 age group (+1%).
The largest decrease was recorded in the 75+ age group (-36%), followed by the 60-74 age group (-30%). The lowest incidence rate is recorded in the 60-74 age group (532 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), while the highest incidence rate is recorded in the 30-44 age group with 970 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
Contaminations
As the number of new infections remains high, the identification of sources is currently not possible for all cases. Among the 5,105 resident cases registered in the week of 18 to 24 April 2022, only cases called and with a result date of 18.04, 19.04 and 21.04 were examined and the source was determined.
For the other days of the week it was decided to review all the 60+ cases as well as all the residents and staff of the care facilities. The 1,468 cases called on these three days were used for the case source descriptions.
The family circle remains the most frequent source of transmission of COVID-19 infections with 31%, followed by travel abroad (20%), leisure activities (6%), work (5%) and the care sector (5%). The percentage of undetermined sources has increased (28%).
Vaccinations: update on the situation
For the week of 18 to 24 April, a total of 980 doses were administered. 67 people received a 1st dose, 140 a 2nd dose, 424 people received one complementary dose to a full vaccination, and 349 received a second complementary dose to a full vaccination, bringing the total number of vaccines administered as of 26 April to 1,278,920.
472,925 people have a complete vaccination pattern, which corresponds to a vaccination rate of 78.7% of the eligible population (i.e. the 5+ population).
"Impf-Bus on tour"
The next stops of the "Impf-Bus on tour" will also be announced on www.covidvaccination.lu. Please note that the vaccination can be done without appointment (identity card and CNS card required). The type of vaccination offered is the initial vaccination and the booster dose.
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 fifteenth week of 2022 still shows a very high prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater at national level. The fluxes of SARS-CoV-2 measured this week are decreasing compared to those observed last week. Similar downward trends were observed for the different wastewater treatment plants analysed, in particular the four major ones, namely BEG, BET, SCH and PET. 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)