New COVID-19 cases - Weekly review: 20 - 26 December

The number of people testing positive for COVID-19 has decreased from 2,727 to 2,688 cases (-1%) for the week of 20 to 26 December.

Among the 2,688 new infections, the incidence rate of positive non-vaccinated persons is 623.89 per 100,000 inhabitants and 328.44 per 100,000 inhabitants for those who had a complete vaccination schedule.

It should be noted that non-vaccinated people are more than twice as likely to be infected as people with a full vaccination pattern.

Among hospital admissions, 29 out of 47 patients in normal care were not vaccinated (18 had a complete vaccination pattern), while 13 out of 19 patients of intensive care were not vaccinated.

The number of PCR tests performed during the week of 20 to 26 December has decreased from 30,922 to 25,070.

78 people reported a positive rapid antigen test (RAT) for the reporting week, compared to 59 the previous week, bringing the number of positive results performed by a health-care worker to a total of 754. Since the introduction of self-tests, 804 positive results have been reported (with 0 cases for the week of 20 to 26 December). It should be noted that positive RATs are not included in the calculation of the positivity rate.

As of 26 December, the number of active infections has increased to 5,479 compared to 5,414 on 19 December, while the number of people healed increased from 90,711 to 93,328. The average age of those diagnosed as positive for COVID-19 is 32.9 years.

For the week of 20 to 26 December, 6 new deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported. The average age of the deceased is 85 years.

In the hospitals, there were 47 new admissions of confirmed COVID-19 patients in normal care, compared to 58 the previous week. The number of occupied beds in the intensive care unit slightly decreased from 22 to 19. The average age of patients decreased from 64 to 61 years.

Positivity rate  and incidence rate

For the reference period, the effective reproduction rate (R) decreased, with 0.92% compared to 1.00% the previous week, while the positivity rate on all tests performed (prescriptions, contact tracing) increased from 8.82% to 10.72%.

The 7-day incidence rate decreased to 423 per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 430 per 100,000 inhabitants the previous week.

Compared to the previous week, the incidence rate has substantially increased for the age groups 15-29 years (+36%) and 30-45 years (+13%) and has decreased in the other age groups, especially in the 75+ (-33%) and 0-14 years (-25%). The lowest incidence rate is recorded in the 75+ age group, with 91.4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

Quarantine and isolation

During the week of 20 to 26 December, 6,000 people were in isolation (+4%) and 3,210 in quarantine (-25%).

Vaccinations: update on the situation

For the week of 20 to 26 December, a total of 31,520 doses were administered. 2,940 people received a 1st dose, 1,834 a 2nd dose and 26,746 people received a complementary dose to a full vaccination, bringing the total number of vaccines administered as of 28 December to 1,057,002.

442,896 people have a complete vaccination pattern, which corresponds to a vaccination rate of 80% of the eligible population (i.e. the 12+ population).

COVID-19-vaccination for children aged 5-11 years: now open in 3 vaccination centres

From 23 December, children aged between 5 and 11 years can be vaccinated on a voluntary basis in the 3 vaccination centres Victor Hugo, Esch-Belval and Ettelbruck.

The vaccination of children will not be possible in temporary vaccination spots ("Pop Up" Vaccination). The child must be accompanied by a legal guardian.

Which vaccine?

Children will be vaccinated with the vaccine Comirnaty from Pfizer and BioNTech. Note that the dose for children aged between 5 and 11 years is lower (with an adapted dosage of 10 µg) than that recommended for children aged 12 years and over, i.e. 1/3 of the dose will be given to children.

Booking an appointment

The appointment can be made on www.impfen.lu with the child's social security card number.

The vaccination can also be carried out by certain paediatricians. The list of paediatricians participating in the vaccination of children will be published shortly covidvaccination.lu.

"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).

Closing of the "Pop-up" Grand-Rue

The vaccination spot in the center of Luxembourg City will close its doors from 31 December 2021, as the premises will have to be vacated.

"Pop-up" Grand-Rue

70, Grand-Rue

L-1660 Luxembourg

The mobile team that provides vaccination at the vaccination spot in the city centre will be deployed to other vaccination sites.

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

Opening hours during public holidays: Vaccination centres, Pop-Up, Helpline

Please note that the opening hours of the vaccination centres and pop-up stations as well as the helpline will change for the holiday period. Further details on covidvaccination.lu.

Vaccination centres

  • 31.12.2021: from 7 am to 2 pm
  • 01.01.2022: closed

Helpline

  • 31.12.2021:  from 7.30 am to 12 pm
  • 01.01.2022: closed

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 20 to 26 December showed a still high prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater at national level. This week's results show a similar flow of SARS-CoV-2 as the last 2 weeks, with a stabilisation of the signal at a high level. A similar 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)

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