Belgium has once again labelled Luxembourg a high-risk zone for covid infections. On Wednesday the Belgian authorities announced that they would upgrade the grand duchy’s status from “orange” to “red” as of 4pm on Friday 25 September.  “Red” classification applies only to non-essential travel, so cross-border workers will not be affected by the update.

Anyone travelling to Belgium from Luxembourg will be subject to 48 hours quarantine and screening. Visitors who want to stay for longer than 48 hours will have to complete an identification form.

On Wednesday health minister Paulette Lenert (LSAP) acknowledged that Luxembourg has the 4th highest number of infections per 100,000 inhabitants in Europe--Spain tops the list, followed by the Czech Republic and France. “All over Europe, the figures are rising, and we see that this is especially the case in the big cities. Somehow our country is a big city and we have the same problems as they do, with no weight given to that situation,” she said.

Nevertheless, the government believes there is no reason to change its testing policy or the covid laws that have now been extended until the end of the year. The situation in hospitals is under control, as the reproduction rate of the virus is stable, Lenert said.