New COVID-19 cases - Weekly review: 12 - 18 April

During the week from 12 to 18 April, the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 continued to decrease slightly from 1,265 to 1,261 (-1%), while the number of their identified close contacts also decreased from 3,122 cases the previous week to 2,943 (-6%).

The number of PCR tests performed during the week of 12 to 18 April has increased from 54,621 to 60,360.

149 people reported a positive rapid antigen test.

On 18 April, the number of active infections was 2,828 (compared to 3,186 on 11/04), while the number of people healed increased from 59,982 to 61,530. The average age of those diagnosed as COVID-19 positive decreased to 36.7 years.

The number of new deaths also decreased, with 8 deaths related to COVID-19, compared to 12 the previous week. The average age of the deceased is 73 years.

In the hospitals, there was a decrease in admissions of confirmed COVID patients, with 84 hospitalisations in normal care, compared to 104 the previous week. However, the situation in intensive care continues to be critical: The number of occupied beds increased from 30 to 33 (including one patient from the Grand Est). It should also be noted that the average age of hospitalised patients continues to decrease (from 61 to 57 years).

The two COVID-19 Consultation Centres (CCCs), located in Kirchberg and Esch-sur-Alzette, have recorded a total of 12,687 visits since their opening, including 497 visits for the week of 12 to 18 April, which is significantly lower than the previous week (682).

Positivity rate and incidence rate

For the reference period, the effective reproduction rate (R) decreased to 0.91, compared to 0.95 the previous week. This trend can also be observed for the positivity rate for all tests performed (prescriptions, Large Scale Testing, contact tracing), which decreased from 2.32% to 2.09% (average over the week). It should however be noted that the positivity rate for tests carried out on prescription, i.e. for people with symptoms, increased from 5.21% to 5.88%.

The 7-day incidence rate remains fairly stable at 201 cases per 100,000 residents. Note that for the week of 5 April, the incidence rate was 202 cases per 100,000 residents over 7 days. Compared to the previous week, the incidence rate has decreased for all age groups, except for the age group 15-29 years (+10%). The most significant decrease is recorded in the age group 60-74 years (-17%), followed by the age group 75+ years (-14%).

The 75+ age group continues to have the lowest incidence rate with 106 cases per 100,000 residents, followed by the age group 60-74 years, with 124 cases per 100,000 residents. Significantly lower incidence rates are being observed in people aged 60+, who have been the main target of the vaccination campaign so far.

Quarantine and isolation

For the week from 12 to 18 April, 2,917 people were in isolation (-9%) and 2,987 in quarantine (-13% compared to the previous week).

Contaminations

For the 1,261 new cases, the family circle remains by far the most frequent source of transmission of COVID-19 infections with 42.6%, followed the work place (4.8%), leisure activities (4.3%) and travel abroad (3.5%). The rate of contamination for which the source is not clearly attributable increased to 38.8%.

Vaccinations: update on the situation

For the week of 12 to 18 April, a total of 33,812 doses were administered. 22,065 people received a 1st dose and 11,747 received a 2nd dose, bringing the total number of vaccines administered until 20 April to 165,515 (1st and 2nd doses).

The follow-up of side effects reported in EudraVigilance following the administration of a COVID-19 vaccine in Luxembourg since the beginning of the vaccination campaign on 28 December 2020, can be consulted via the link COVID-19: suivi des effets indésirables des vaccins – rapport au 16.04.2021 (public.lu) (French only).

The evolution of the variants

For the week of 5 to 11 April, the population sequencing coverage was 50.7%, well above the optimal rate of 10% recommended by ECDC in order to have an optimal representative sampling.

Regarding the sampling of 661 tests carried out for calendar week 14/2021, the following distribution of variants can be observed:

  • The UK variant (B.1.1.7) represents 81.4% of the cases
  • The South African SA variant (B.1.351) represents 14.2% of the cases
  • The Brazilian variant (P.1) represents 1.1% of de cases

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 level of contamination of the 13 treatment plants sampled during the week of 12 to 18 April indicates a moderate prevalence of the virus in waste water at national level. However, a downward trend could be observed throughout the week.

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)

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