Lenert was speaking at a press conference on the coronavirus, officially covid-19, on Wednesday afternoon.

She said a crisis response unit had met at Senningen castle, site of the government’s crisis centre, several times in recent days to verify that procedures on handling people exposed to the coronavirus had been correctly followed.

So far, screenings in Luxembourg have been negative. But one challenge is that current laboratory tests can only be used well after the virus incubation period. “The test would not be effective when there are no symptoms,” Jean-Claude Schmit, director of the health service, stated at the press conference. “In several cases, the tests were negative, then the virus developed afterwards. It is necessary to wait 14 days” after exposure to conduct the test.

In most cases of exposure, authorities prefer patients to self-isolate at home. However, if a suspected coronavirus patient requires hospitalisation, only the CHL is capable of providing care.

In response to a charge levied by Aleba, the banking sector trade union, that a bank required employees to take vacation days during a company-imposed quarantine, Lenert stated: “If an employer decides [that employees should stay at home], that’s their decision. But they have to assume the cost of that; it’s not the employee who has to cover the expense.”

Without any symptoms present, it is impossible for doctors to write a sick note to cover a quarantine. An exception would be a doctor working for the public health service or a public health inspector, in which case the quarantine period would be covered by the national health system.

Health officials reminded the public that the best methods of avoiding the coronavirus are simple hygienic measures, such as frequently washing your hands.

Reported by Pierre Pailler; edited by Aaron Grunwald