Jim Kent asked health minister Paulette Lenert (LSAP) about how her ministry and the medical profession was handling the spread of coronavirus in Luxembourg. Among the points Lenert made was that she didn’t really think anyone was to blame for new infections. “It’s a hidden virus… you don’t notice in the beginning when you have it.” Asked what could be done to limit the spread of new infections, the minister said on 19 March, “there’s really only one thing we can do, and that’s staying at home now.”
The minister added that testing at current levels--750 were conducted on Thursday--is favourable compared to many countries and that capacity is there to carry on at that rate for the coming weeks.
She also didn’t rule out calling on certified health professionals who are currently unable to practice in Luxembourg because of their lack of relevant language skills. She also acknowledged that many English-language speakers would like to have simultaneous translations of official government briefings. “We are trying to set this up as quickly as possible… it’s a big challenge for us but we are working on it.”
Lenert said that she could not give any prognosis about how long the current crisis would last. “We are monitoring the situation every day and we will see how the curve is moving on here in Luxembourg and according to that we can take decisions.”