One in ten intensive care beds occupied by covid-19 patients

Active coronavirus infections at the end of October breached 2,000--the highest number since May--with six deaths recorded over the past week following a positive Sars-CoV-2 test.

During the week from 25 to 31 October, four people died after testing positive for the coronavirus, the government said in its weekly report published on Wednesday. Another two died on 1 November, with no fatality on 2 November, the latest data available.

One in ten intensive care beds in Luxembourg last week was occupied by a covid-19 patient, the government said, with nine out of ten intensive care patients unvaccinated. Around two thirds of the 24 patients receiving regular hospital care were also unvaccinated, the health ministry said. While coronavirus vaccines cannot entirely prevent infection, they offer protection from severe illness and death, the European Medicines Agency says.

The number of new infections rose by 14%, from 981 to 1,118. The number of active infections stood at 2,031 on 2 November. The last time the number of active infections breached the 2,000 threshold was in May this year.

The rising infection number was also reflected in a weekly analysis, which found a progressive increase in virus particles in the country’s wastewater, the ministry said.

The reproductive rate stood at 1.08 for the period between 25 to 31 October. The rate of infections rose to 176.14 per 100,000 inhabitants, from 154.55 the week before. This rate was significantly higher among people who are not or only partially vaccinated (258.76) than those who completed their vaccination schedule (123.26).

The average age of people tested positive was 35.2. The highest number of infections occurred in those aged 30 to 39, making up 17% of cases, followed by the 40 to 49 age bracket (16.7%) and children under the age of nine (14.8%).

In around a third of cases, there was no clear source of the infection. The family circle was the single-biggest identified source (31.2%), followed by education (14.3%), leisure activities (7%) and the workplace (6.9%).

More than 6,600 people were either isolated because of an active infection or quarantined after being in direct contact with someone who contracted the virus.

The number of people getting vaccinated meanwhile picked up. While during the first week of October, fewer than 6,000 doses were administered, this number rose to 15,746 last week, of which 4,736 people received their first dose. More than 9,400 people received a booster shot.