COVID-19 cases - Weekly review: 2 - 8 May 2022

The number of people testing positive for COVID-19 has decreased from 3,641 to 3,257 cases (-11%) for the week of 2 to 8 May 2022.

The number of PCR tests performed during the week of 2 to 8 May has decreased from 12,848 to 10,763.

47 people reported a positive rapid antigen test (RAT) for the reporting week, compared to 79 the previous week, bringing the number of positive results performed by a health-care worker to a total of 2,940. It should be noted that positive RATs are not included in the calculation of the positivity rate.

As of 8 May, the number of active infections has decreased to 7,174 compared to 8,251 on 1 May, while the number of people healed increased from 229,600 to 233,934. The average age of those diagnosed as positive for COVID-19 is 37.1 years.

For the week of 2 to 8 May, 4 new deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported. The average age of the deceased is 78 years.

In the hospitals, there were 16 new admissions of confirmed COVID-19 patients in normal care, compared to 14 the previous week. The number of occupied beds in the intensive care unit decreased from 2 to 1. The average age of hospitalised patients is 60 years.

Positivity rate and incidence rate

For the reference period, the effective reproduction rate (R) increased, with 0.98% compared to 0.82% the previous week, while the positivity rate on all tests performed (prescriptions, contact tracing) increased from 28.34% to 30.26%.

The 7-day incidence rate decreased to 505 per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 564 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, except in the 0-14 age group (+10%).

The largest decrease was recorded in the 75+ age group (-35%), followed by the 15-29 age group (-17%). The lowest incidence rate is recorded in the 60-74 age group (389 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), while the highest incidence rate is recorded in the 0-14 age group with 767 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 3,924 resident cases registered in the week of 2 to 8 May, only cases called and with a result date of 02.05, 04.05 to 06.05, and 08.05 were examined and the source was determined.

The 1,997 cases called on these days were used for the case source descriptions. The family circle remains the most frequent source of transmission of COVID-19 infections (38%), followed by education (12%), leisure activities (8%), work (5%) and travel abroad (5%). The percentage of undetermined sources remains unchanged (26%).

Vaccinations: update on the situation

For the week of 2 to 8 May, a total of 2,566 doses were administered. 63 people received a 1st dose, 130 a 2nd dose, 561 people received one complementary dose to a full vaccination, and 1,812 received a second complementary dose to a full vaccination, bringing the total number of vaccines administered as of 10 May to 1,280,381.

473,198 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 week of 2 to 8 May still shows a high prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater at national level.

The fluxes of SARS-CoV-2 measured this week have slightly increased compared to those observed last week. Similar upward trends were observed for the different wastewater treatment plants analysed, in particular in Beggen and Petange.

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)