The number of people testing positive for COVID-19 has increased from 4,670 to 4,794 cases (+2%) for the week of 28 February to 6 March 202.
Among the 4,794 new infections, the incidence rate of positive non-vaccinated persons is 866 per 100,000 inhabitants and 712.8 per 100,000 inhabitants for those who had a complete vaccination.
Among hospital admissions, 10 out of 24 patients in normal care were not vaccinated (14 patients had a complete vaccination), while 5 out of 6 patients of intensive care were not vaccinated.
The calculated incidence rate per 100,000 hospitalised persons (5 years and older) with a complete vaccination pattern is 2.90 in normal care and 0.21 in intensive care. The calculated incidence rate per 100,000 non-vaccinated hospitalized persons (5 years and older) is 8.41 in normal care and 4.20 in intensive care.
The number of PCR tests performed during the week of 28 February to 6 March has decreased from 17,554 to 17,166.
68 people reported a positive rapid antigen test (RAT) for the reporting week, compared to 47 the previous week, bringing the number of positive results performed by a health-care worker to a total of 2,139. It should be noted that positive RATs are not included in the calculation of the positivity rate.
As of 6 March, the number of active infections has increased to 9,611 compared to 8,478 on 27 February, while the number of people healed increased from 173,707 to 177,361. The average age of those diagnosed as positive for COVID-19 is 34.2 years.
For the week of 28 February to 6 March, 7 new deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported. The average age of the deceased is 88 years.
In the hospitals, there were 24 new admissions of confirmed COVID-19 patients in normal care, compared to 22 the previous week. The number of occupied beds in the intensive care unit decreased from 7 to 6. The average age of hospitalised patients is 57 years.
Positivity rate and incidence rate
For the reference period, the effective reproduction rate (R) increased, with 1.11% compared to 1.02% the previous week, while the positivity rate on all tests performed (prescriptions, contact tracing) increased from 26.60% to 27.93%.
The 7-day incidence rate increased to 755 per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 736 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.
The largest increase was recorded in the 75+ age group (+29%), followed by the 0-14 age group (+14%) and the 30-44 age group (+6%). The most significant decrease is recorded in the age group 15-29 years (-14%). In the week of 28/02-06/03, school-certified self-tests accounted for 26% of cases among 0-14 year olds and 13% of cases among 15-29 year olds.
The lowest incidence rate is recorded in the 60-74 age group (400 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), while the highest incidence rate is recorded in the 0-14 age group with 1,452 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.
The family circle remains the most frequent source of transmission of COVID-19 infections (31.3%), followed by education (12.3%), travel abroad (8.2%), leisure activities (6.2%) and work (3.6%). The percentage of undetermined sources has decreased (33.9%).
Vaccinations: update on the situation
For the week of 28 February to 6 March, a total of 3,838 doses were administered. 451 people received a 1st dose, 1,048 a 2nd dose, 1,963 people received one complementary dose to a full vaccination, and 376 received a second complementary dose to a full vaccination, bringing the total number of vaccines administered as of 8 March to 1,268,435.
469,749 people have a complete vaccination pattern, which corresponds to a vaccination rate of 78.2% of the eligible population (i.e. the 5+ population).
"Pop Up" Vaccination: Lëtzebuerg léisst sech impfen
To increase vaccination coverage, the Government continues 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).
The list of all new vaccination spots is continuously updated and can be consulted on covidvaccination.lu.
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 9th week of 2022 still shows a high prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater at national level. The decrease in the flow of SARS-CoV-2 that began three weeks ago has stopped. A slight rebound was observed at the end of the previous week and the beginning of week 9, but the values seem to have stabilised. Similar trends were observed for the different treatment plants analysed.
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)