During the week from 3 to 9 May, the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 decreased again from 1,119 to 936 (-16.4%), while the number of their identified close contacts also decreased from 2,967 cases the previous week to 2,423 (-18.4%).
The number of PCR tests performed during the week of 3 to 9 May has increased from 50,973 to 53,487.
197 people reported a positive rapid antigen test.
As of 9 May, the number of active infections had decreased to 2,167 (compared to 2,467 on 02/05), while the number of people healed increased from 64,094 to 65,460. The average age of those diagnosed as COVID-19 positive increased to 32.7 years.
The number of new deaths decreased, with 4 deaths related to COVID-19, compared to 9 the previous week. The average age of the deceased is 68 years.
In the hospitals, there was a decrease in admissions of confirmed COVID patients, with 56 hospitalisations in normal care, compared to 58 the previous week. The number of people in intensive care has slightly decreased from 34 to 32. The average age of hospitalised patients remains at 57 years.
The two COVID-19 Consultation Centres (CCCs), located in Kirchberg and Esch-sur-Alzette, have recorded a total of 13,831 visits since their opening, including 286 visits for the week of 3 to 9 May, which is lower than the previous week (363).
Therefore, in view of the evolution of the number of visits and the current pandemic situation, it is planned to close the COVID-19 Consultation Centres (CCCs) as of 16 May 2021 at 3 p.m..
From this date onwards, symptomatic people, i.e. those showing signs of a COVID-19 infection, should contact their general practitioner, preferably via teleconsultation. People with serious health problems (severe coughing, shortness of breath, discomfort, chest pain, cyanosis) are asked to attend the emergency services of hospitals.
Positivity rate and incidence rate
For the reference period, the effective reproduction rate (R) remained stable at 0.93, the positivity rate on all tests performed (prescriptions, Large Scale Testing, contact tracing) decreased from 2.2% to 1.75% (weekly average). It should be noted that the positivity rate for tests carried out on prescription, i.e. for people with symptoms, decreased from 5.31% to 3.91%.
The incidence rate continues its downward trend with 147 cases per 100,000 residents over 7 days, compared to 176 cases per 100,000 residents for the week of 26 April. Compared to the previous week, the incidence rate has decreased for all age groups, except for the age group 0-14 years. The most significant decrease is recorded in the age group 75+ years (-44%). A significant decrease is also recorded in the age group 15-29 years (-25%), 45-49 years (-23%) and 60-74 years (-20%). An increase of the incidence rate was recorded in the age group 0-14 years (+6%).
The 75+ age group continues to have the lowest incidence rate with 31 cases per 100,000 residents, followed by the age group 60-74 years, with 63 cases per 100,000 residents. Children from 0-15 years now have the highest incidence rate with 211 cases per 100,000 residents.
Compared to the rest of the population, the incidence rate is 3.3 times lower in people aged 60 and older. This category has been the main target of the vaccination campaign so far.
Quarantine and isolation
For the week from 3 to 9 May, 2,452 people were in isolation (-11,4%) and 3,359 in quarantine (-7,8% compared to the previous week).
Contaminations
For the 936 new cases, the family circle remains by far the most frequent source of transmission of COVID-19 infections with 45.6%, followed by the school (6.3%), the work place (4.0%) and travel abroad (2.8%). The rate of contamination for which the source is not clearly attributable decreased to 37.9%.
Vaccinations: update on the situation
For the week of 3 to 9 May, a total of 40,717 doses were administered. 26,678 people received a 1st dose and 14,039 received a 2nd dose, bringing the total number of vaccines administered until 11 May to 255,678. (1st and 2nd dose).
The evolution of the variants
For the week of 27 April to 2 May, the population sequencing coverage was 52.6%, well above the optimal rate of 10% recommended by ECDC in order to have an optimal representative sampling.
Regarding the 498 samples carried out for calendar week 17/2021, the following distribution of variants can be observed:
- the UK variant (B.1.1.7) represents 82.1% of the cases;
- the South African SA variant (B.1.351) represents 10.2% of the cases;
- the Brazilian variant (P.1) represents 2.2% of de cases.
During the week 17/2021, 1 new case of the Indian variant B.1.617 was detected in Luxembourg.
Wastewater monitoring in Luxembourg as part of SARS-CoV-2
The contamination level of the 13 analysed waste water treatment plants by the LIST (Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology), during the week of 3 -9 May indicates a continues decrease over the past weeks. This result will have to be confirmed by the analyses performed in the coming weeks.
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 Laboratoire national de santé (LNS) and the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST)