Petitions which gather 4,500 signatures are required to be debated in Parliament. Photo: Shutterstock.

Petitions which gather 4,500 signatures are required to be debated in Parliament. Photo: Shutterstock.

Covid-19 and government measures continue to dominate public opinion in Luxembourg with four out of nine petitions made available for signing on Friday covering the topic.

Approximately 79% of the eligible population in the grand duchy has been vaccinated. But those lacking the shot are making their voices heard via petitions. In less than a day, a petition opposing 2G rules in the leisure sector has gotten ahead of the pack with 544 signatures or 12% of the required 4,500 for a debate in parliament.

Petition creator Mandy Huberty considers that the rules are “deliberately provoking discrimination against a small minority of unvaccinated people.”

Out of the four covid related petitions, the one with the least votes at the time of writing is the one calling for unvaccinated people to be put into lockdown in order to protect them better. This citizen initiative draws comparisons to decisions in Austria and in some parts of Germany to restrict the movement of unvaccinated people.

Another petition calls for all employees who work with unvaccinated co-workers to receive additional payment. This risk payment would be an incentive for people to get vaccinated but also would be a just way to compensate vaccinated people for putting themselves at risk according to the petition.

A call for the suspension of quarantine of children in primary school has also received some attention. The idea behind this measure is to allow children access to the “maison relais” daycare centres and to physical activities which are considered important for children’s health at an early age.

Petitions have an extremely low chance of conversion into law, but they are an indicator of public opinion. This latest batch of citizens’ initiatives shows a motivation by residents to be implicated in public life, no matter which side of the covid fence they stand on.