Sunday 19 April, 9pm
The death toll in Europe (excluding Russia) passed 100,000 on Sunday evening. The largest number were in Italy (23,660), followed by Spain (20,453), France (19,718) and UK (16,060). The total number of global reported deaths was 164,716, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Centre.
Sunday 19 April, 5.50pm
The health ministry said a few moments ago that there have been 3,550 confirmed covid-19 cases in Luxembourg (up from 3,537 reported on 18 April). There have been 73 deaths (compared to 72 reported the previous day). The average age of those infected is 46 and the median age of fatalities is 85.
By the latest count, 181 people are in hospital (yesterday there were 180), of whom 31 are in intensive care (compared to 32). A total of 627 (up from 601) patients who tested positive for covid-19 have been discharged from hospital. Since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, a total of 33,666 tests (compared to 33,252) have been carried out.
None of these figures include patients transferred to Luxembourg from French hospitals.
Sunday 19 April, 5.25pm
The Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce has issued an explanation of how masks will be distributed to businesses. Companies with 50 or more employees will receive the masks by direct distribution on Monday 20 or Tuesday 21 April. For these two days, companies are requested to ensure someone is available at their offices to receive the packages distributed by Post Luxembourg.
Companies with fewer than 50 employees will receive a letter from the Joint Social Security Centre (CCSS) on Monday 20 or Tuesday 21 April informing them of the number of masks made available to them. The masks will be given to the companies against presentation of the original letter from the CCSS to the post office (or collection point) indicated on the back of the letter.
Each company will receive 5 protective masks per employee.
Sunday 19 April, 11:25pm
Here are the latest figures from neighbouring countries, announced by government sources, as of Saturday 18 April:
- Belgium: 38,496 confirmed covid-19 cases (up from a cumulative total of 37,183 confirmed cases the previous day), including 5,683 deaths (up from a total of 5,453 deaths reported the previous day) and 8,757 recovered patients discharged from hospital (up from 8,348 reported the previous day)
- France: 111,821 confirmed cases (up from 109,252), including 19,323 deaths (up from 18,681) and 35,983 recovered patients discharged from hospital (up from 34,420)
- Germany: 137,439 confirmed cases (up from 133,830), including 4,110 deaths (up from 3,868) and an estimated 85,400 recovered patients (up from 81,800)
Globally there have been more than 2.33m confirmed infections, including more than 161,000 deaths due to the virus and more than 598,900 recovered patients.
Sunday 19 April, 9:10am
Klaus Regling, head of the European Stability Mechanism, called for an additional €500bn in EU funds for virus recovery programmes in an interview published this morning. The rescue fund chief said the money could come from the European Commission and regular EU budget. European finance ministers agreed on a €540bn stimulus plan on 9 April and are set to meet again on 23 April. Regling was speaking with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera (summarised in English by Euractiv and Reuters).
Saturday 18 April, 5:50pm
The health ministry said a few moments ago that there have been 3,537 confirmed covid-19 cases in Luxembourg (up from 3,480 reported on 17 April). There have been 72 deaths (the same figure as reported the previous day). The average age of those infected is 46 and the median age of fatalities is 84.5.
By the latest count, 180 people are in hospital (yesterday there were 178), of whom 32 are in intensive care (compared to 29). A total of 601 (up from 579) patients who tested positive for covid-19 have been discharged from hospital. Since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, a total of 33,252 tests (compared to 32,394) have been carried out.
None of these figures include patients transferred to Luxembourg from French hospitals.
Saturday 18 April, 5:35pm
The Chamber of Deputies this afternoon agreed to allow the state to borrow up to €3 billion to meet the cost of tackling the covid-19 epidemic. The same bill provides state guarantees up to a maximum of €2.5 billion for companies in difficulty.
Saturday 18 April, 12:05pm
Here are the latest figures from neighbouring countries, announced by government sources, as of Friday 17 April:
- Belgium: 37,183 confirmed covid-19 cases (up from a cumulative total of 36,138 confirmed cases the previous day), including 5,453 deaths (up from a total of 5,163 deaths reported the previous day) and 8,348 recovered patients discharged from hospital (up from 7,961 reported the previous day)
- France: 109,252 confirmed cases (up from 108,847), including 18,681 deaths (up from 17,920) and 34,420 recovered patients discharged from hospital (up from 32,812)
- Germany: 133,830 confirmed cases (up from 130,450), including 3,868 deaths (up from 3,569) and an estimated 81,800 recovered patients (up from 77,000)
Globally there have been more than 2.25m confirmed infections, including more than 154,600 deaths due to the virus and more than 574,700 recovered patients.
Saturday 18 April, 11:50am
Luxinnovation and several partners started an exchange platform to buy and sell personal protective equipment and supplies produced by Luxembourg firms. Local outfits can create an account and post their goods on Epi-covid19.lu, the economy ministry said on Saturday. Companies can likewise post requests for proposals.
Saturday 18 April, 9:50am
Parliament held their first session at the Cercle Cité--the temporary home of the Chamber of Deputies during lockdown--on Friday. MPs submitted several motions, some of which will be debated during future sessions. The chamber approved bills extending the deadline for political parties to submit financial statements and extending the deadline for energy utilities to install smart meters.
MPs started their second session at the Cercle Cité today at 9am. They are debating bill 7545, which would provide state guarantees on 85% of emergency loans to businesses of up to €2.5bn. They will also debate a motion on increasing the amount of aid offered via the government’s €8.8bn stimulus package.
Friday 17 April, 6:20pm
The health ministry said a few moments ago that there have been 3,480 confirmed covid-19 cases in Luxembourg (up from 3,444 reported on 16 April). There have been 72 deaths (up from 68 the previous day). The average age of those infected is 46 and the median age of fatalities is 84.5.
By the latest count, 178 people are in hospital, of which 29 are in intensive care. A total of 579 patients who tested positive for covid-19 have been discharged from hospital. Since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, a total of 32,394 tests have been carried out.
None of these figures include patients transferred to Luxembourg from French hospitals.
Friday 17 April, 5:10pm
Two more border crossings between Luxembourg and Germany, at Remich and Bollendorf have re-opened. Foreign minister Jean Asselborn said in a statement that he was pleased with the German decision, which was the result of talks he had with German secretary of state for the interior, Georg Engelke.
Friday 17 April, 2:30pm
Employment minister Dan Kersch said on Friday that new laws governing workplace behaviour will be drafted to limit the spread of coronavirus after the relaxing of confinement regulations. Kersch said it is not enough for the government to merely issue recommendations as many other countries are doing, but that clear and easy to follow rules were required. He said that the health inspectorate will be given the authority to ensure that rules are being followed--police, the customs authority and the ITM work inspectorate already have such powers.
Friday 17 April, 11am
In a statement, Luxembourg’s financial surveillance authority, the CSSF, reminded institutions it monitors the need to continue working from home following the Luxembourg government deconfinement announcement of 15 April. It wrote that satisfactory IT security conditions should be guaranteed and no prior authorisation is needed for such work arrangements.The Luxembourg government will reassess the situation after 11 May.
Thursday 16 April, 6:40pm
The health ministry said a few moments ago that there have been 3,444 confirmed covid-19 cases in Luxembourg (up from 3,373 reported on 15 April). There have been 68 deaths (an unexplained change from 69 reported fatalities the previous day). The average age of those infected is 46 and the median age of fatalities is 85.
By the latest count, 205 people are in hospital, of which 35 are in intensive care. A total of 552 patients who tested positive for covid-19 have been discharged from hospital. Since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, a total of 31,660 tests have been carried out.
None of these figures include patients transferred to Luxembourg from French hospitals.
Thursday 16 April, 2:35pm
Here are the latest figures from neighbouring countries, announced by government sources, as of Wednesday 15 April:
- Belgium: 34,809 confirmed covid-19 cases (up from a cumulative total of 33,573 confirmed cases the previous day), including 4,857 deaths (up from a total of 4,440 deaths reported the previous day) and 7,526 recovered patients discharged from hospital (up from 7,107 reported the previous day)
- France: 106,206 confirmed cases (up from 103,573), including 17,167 deaths (up from 15,729) and 30,995 recovered patients discharged from hospital (up from 28,805)
- Germany: 127,584 confirmed cases (up from 125,098), including 3,254 deaths (up from 2,969) and an estimated 72,600 recovered patients (up from 68,100)
Globally there have been more than 2m confirmed infections, including more than 138,000 deaths due to the virus and more than 522,800 recovered patients.
Wednesday 15 April, 7pm
Figures published by the health ministry on Wednesday evening recorded 3,373 confirmed covid-19 cases in Luxembourg (up from 3,307 as of 14 April at 8:20pm). There have been 69 deaths (compared to 67 reported on Tuesday). The average age of those infected is 46 and the median age of fatalities is 84.
By the latest count, 191 people are in hospital (down from 192 on Tuesday), of which 24 are in intensive care. A total of 526 patients who tested positive for covid-19 have now been discharged from hospital. Since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, a total of 30,723 tests have been carried out. None of these figures include patients transferred to Luxembourg from French hospitals.
Wednesday 15 April, 6pm
The Luxembourg government announced a three-stage approach to easing lockdown, with the first phase starting 20 April. On this day construction sites and gardening activities will resume. The wearing of masks or other alternative mouth and nose coverings will be compulsory in shops and anywhere people come within two metres of another person not from their household.
Tuesday 14 April, 8:20pm
The health ministry said this afternoon that there have been 3,307 confirmed covid-19 cases in Luxembourg (up from 3,292 as of 13 April at 5:35pm). There have been 67 deaths (following an error in the transmission of data, the number has been corrected from the 69 deaths announced by the ministry on Monday). The average age of those infected is 46 and the median age of fatalities is 85.
By the latest count, 192 people are in hospital (down from 211 on Monday), of which 31 are in intensive care. A total of 486 patients who tested positive for covid-19 have now been discharged from hospital. Since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, a total of 29,523 tests have been carried out. None of these figures include patients transferred to Luxembourg from French hospitals.
Tuesday 14 April, 5:45pm
Representatives from unions and business associations as well as the government have formed a working group to define the conditions under which confinement could be eased at the workplace. Employment minister Dan Kersch said in a press conference on Tuesday afternoon that strict regulations are required. He expects the working group to make a presentation to cabinet next Friday.
Tuesday 14 April, 2:45pm
Applications for the €2,500 state aid for the self-employed can now be made online. The ministry of small and medium-size enterprises has made the online tool available through the Myguichet.lu professional area. Applications can be made via a Luxtrust product (e.g. Token, Smartcard or Signing stick) or an electronic identity card. Full details and conditions can be found at this guichet.public.lu link.
Monday 13 April, 8:30pm
French president Emmanuel Macron announced a gradual return to normal economic activity starting 11 May. In a televised speech on Monday evening, Macron said that crèches, schools and colleges would be reopened progressively. Museums, restaurants and events involving large numbers of people would not be reopened until mid-July at the earliest. He added that people with chronic illnesses would be asked to respect the social distancing rules beyond 11 May for their own protection.
Monday 13 April, 6:35pm
The health ministry said this afternoon that there have been 3,292 confirmed covid-19 cases in Luxembourg (up from 3,281 as of 12 April at 5:35pm). There have been 69 deaths (up from 66). The average age of those infected is 46 and the median age of fatalities is 85.
By the latest count, 211 people are in hospital, of which 31 are in intensive care. A total of 467 patients who tested positive for covid-19 have been discharged from hospital. Since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, a total of 29,315 tests have been carried out. None of these figures include patients transferred to Luxembourg from French hospitals.
Monday 13 April, 3:00pm
The grand ducal court has announced the death from covid-19 of Victor Batista Falla, the uncle of Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, at the age of 87. The last surviving brother of the grand duchess’s mother had travelled from his residence in Madrid to his native Cuba for the first time in 60 years.
Monday 13 April, 11:20am
Here are the latest figures from neighbouring countries, announced by government sources, as of Sunday 12 April:
- Belgium: 30,589 confirmed covid-19 cases (up from a cumulative total of 29,647 confirmed cases the previous day), including 3,903 deaths (up from a total of 3,600 deaths reported the previous day) and 6,707 recovered patients discharged from hospital (up from 6,463 reported the previous day)
- France: 95,403 confirmed cases (up from 93,790), including 14,393 deaths (up from 13,832) and 27,186 recovered patients discharged from hospital (up from 26,391)
- Germany: 120,479 confirmed cases (up from 117,658), including 2,673 deaths (up from 2,544) and an estimated 60,300 recovered patients (up from 57,400)
Globally there have been more than 1.85m confirmed infections, including more than 114,300 deaths due to the virus and more than 435,000 recovered patients.
Monday 13 April, 10:45am
Fedamo, the car dealers federation, published a list of garages that are open for emergency auto repairs.
Monday 13 April, 10:25am
The Luxembourg Red Cross and Caritas Luxembourg said they expanded access to their Buttek social grocery stores to families facing difficulties due to the coronavirus outbreak. The shops sell essential food and household items at “up to 70% less than the market price.”