COVID-19 cases - Weekly review: 23 - 29 May 2022

The number of people testing positive for COVID-19 has decreased from 1,879 to 1,174 cases (-36%) for the week of 23 to 29 May 2022.

The number of PCR tests performed during the week of 23 to 29 May has decreased from 9,178 to 6,301.

16 people reported a positive rapid antigen test (RAT) for the reporting week, compared to 20 the previous week, bringing the number of positive results performed by a health-care worker to a total of 2,997. It should be noted that positive RATs are not included in the calculation of the positivity rate.

As of 29 May, the number of active infections has decreased to 3,302 compared to 4,849 on 22 May, while the number of people healed increased from 240,836 to 243,555. The average age of those diagnosed as positive for COVID-19 is 42.4 years.

For the week of 23 to 29 May, 2 new deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported. The average age of the deceased is 63 years.

In the hospitals, there were 6 new admissions of confirmed COVID-19 patients in normal care, compared to 12 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 63 years.

Positivity rate and incidence rate

For the reference period, the effective reproduction rate (R) increased, with 0.79% compared to 0.65% the previous week, while the positivity rate on all tests performed (prescriptions, contact tracing) decreased from 20.47% to 18.63%.

The 7-day incidence rate remains at 182 per 100,000 residents.

Re-infections as well as certified self-tests were included in the calculation of incidence rates. The incidence rate decreased in all age groups. ​ The largest decrease was recorded in the 0-14 age group (-55%), followed by the 15-29 age group (-43%). The lowest incidence rate is recorded in the 60-74 age group (180 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), while the highest incidence rate is recorded in the 30-44 age group with 282 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 1,416 resident cases registered in the week of 23 to 29 May 2022, only cases called were examined and the source was determined. The 1,271 (89.8%) cases called at the time of this report were used for the case source description.

The family circle remains the most frequent source of transmission of COVID-19 infections (28%), followed by travel abroad (17%), work (10%), leisure activities (7%) and education (6%). The percentage of undetermined sources has slightly decreased (26%).

Vaccinations: update on the situation

For the week of 23 to 29 May, a total of 1,721 doses were administered. 67 people received a 1st dose, 69 a 2nd dose, 424 people received one complementary dose to a full vaccination, 1,159 received a second complementary dose to a full vaccination and 2 received a third complementary dose to a full vaccination, bringing the total number of vaccines administered as of 31 May to 1,282,424.

473,487 people have a complete vaccination pattern, which corresponds to a vaccination rate of 78.8% of the eligible population (i.e. the 5+ population).

"Impf-Bus on tour"

The next stops of the "Impf-Bus on tour" will be announced on www.impfen.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 21st week of 2022 still shows a high prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater at national level, although the downward trend in SARS-CoV-2 flows observed in the past weeks is being confirmed this week, both at the national and regional levels.  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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