New COVID-19 cases - Weekly review: 8 - 14 February

During the week from 8 to 14 February, the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 decreased from 1,140 to 1,099 (-3.6%), as did the number of their identified close contacts, from 4,067 cases the previous week to 2,860 (-30% ).

The number of PCR tests performed during the week of 8 to 14 February has increased from 61,480 to 70,617.

As of 14 January, the number of active infections was 2,542 (compared to 2,512 on 07/02), while the number of people healed increased from 48,816 to 49,770. The average age of those diagnosed as COVID-19 positive increased slightly to 34.7 years. ​

During the week in question, there were 11 new deaths related to COVID-19, compared to 14 the previous week. The average age of the deceased is 85 years.

In the hospitals, the situation was stable, with 55 hospitalisations in normal care and 13 hospitalisations in intensive care of confirmed COVID patients for the week of 8 to 14 February, compared to 50, respectively 13, the previous week.

The two COVID-19 Consultation Centres (CCCs), located in Kirchberg and Esch-sur-Alzette, have recorded a total of 7,668 visits since their opening, including 399 visits for the week of 8 to 14 February, which is slightly lower than the previous week (429).

Positivity rate and incidence rate

For the reference period, the effective reproduction rate (R) slightly decreased from 1.06% to 1.01%. A decrease regarding the positivity rate on all tests performed (prescriptions, Large Scale Testing) can also be noticed, dropping from 1.85% to 1.56% compared to the previous week (average over the week). It should be noted that the positivity rate for tests carried out on prescription, i.e. for people with symptoms, decreased considerably to 1.79%, compared to 3.02% the previous week.

The 7-day incidence rate is 176 per 100,000 residents. Note that for the week of 1st February, the incidence rate was 182 cases per 100,000 residents over 7 days. The incidence rate dropped in all age groups except for those aged 75 or older. Among those aged 75 or older, the incidence rate has remained stable. The 0-14 age group has the highest incidence rate whereas the 60-74 age group continues to have an incidence rate which is almost half as high as the rest of the population.

Quarantine and isolation

For the week from 8 to 14 February, 2,409 people were in isolation (+12%) and 3.470 in quarantine (-19% compared to the previous week).

Contaminations

For the 1,099 new cases, the family circle remains by far the most frequent source of transmission of COVID-19 infections with 45.6%, followed by the education sector (9.8%), the help and care sector (3.5%) and the work place (3.4%). The rate of contamination for which the source is not clearly attributable decreased to 31.1%.

Vaccinations: update on the situation

For the week of 8 to 14 February, a total of 5,271 doses were administered. 3,320 people received a 1st dose and 1,959 received a 2nd dose.

The schedule of the amounts of doses to which Luxembourg is theoretically entitled according to the pro rata of 0.14% of the Luxembourg population, as provided for in the contracts already concluded by the Commission with the various manufacturers, as well as the amounts already delivered to the Grand Duchy to date and expected to be delivered by the end of April 2021, can be consulted in the attached weekly report (PDF).

To date, it is therefore planned to have vaccinated 71,355 people by the end of March 2021. It should be noted, however, that the amount of doses is subject to adjustments from week to week based on manufacturers' production capacities and deliveries.

The evolution of the variants

As announced in the two previous weekly reports, works are currently in progress to set up a sequencing system that will provide representative results for the entire population of Luxembourg. The next numbers will be published as soon as the work is finalised.

Wastewater monitoring in Luxembourg as part of SARS-CoV-2 

The latest CORONASTEP report drawn up by the LIST (Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology), the level of contamination of the 13 treatment plants sampled during the sixth week of 2021 indicates a high prevalence of the virus in waste water at national level for the week of 8 to 14 February. ​ A slight upward trend was noticeable at the beginning of the week but does not seem to have been confirmed by the end of the week. ​ However, it is advisable to remain cautious in the interpretations and to wait for the results of the next analyses to be able to identify a real 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 and the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST)

Last update