Covid spreads as Luxembourg returns from summer break
The seriously ill are predominantly unvaccinated, prime minister says
Prime Minister Xavier Bettel speaks at a press conference on Wednesday © Photo credit: Anouk Anthony
After weeks in which Luxembourg's battle with Covid-19 eased, the number of new infections jumped by 50% in the week ending on Sunday, the Health Ministry reported on Wednesday.
The increase during the week of 16-22 August was not unexpected because it coincided with Luxembourg residents returning from summer holidays abroad, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said at a news conference.
"Covid is not over yet," Bettel said.
The disease continues to attack people who are younger and unvaccinated, the health ministry data showed. Three-quarters of the 440 people newly discovered to be infected with the novel coronavirus were not vaccinated, but 25% were fully vaccinated and became sick anyway, the ministry said.
All critically ill Covid-19 patients and almost two-thirds of all requiring hospitalization were not vaccinated, the ministry said.
More than half of the cases during the week were in people between 20 and 49, the ministry said, with the average age of people diagnosed with the disease declining from 33 to 31.
The two people who died during the period had an average age of 75, the ministry said. Rather than Luxembourg mandating vaccinations, the government planned to make it easier for people to get the jab at shopping malls or even at work if they work for a large company, Bettel said.
