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Stock image of a wastewater treatment plant (Photo: Shutterstock) 

The Coronastep study--which tracks the presence of coronavirus at 13 wastewater treatment plants across the country--concluded that SARS-CoV-2 remained “at high values indicating a still very high prevalence”.

Although the amount of virus ribonucleic acid (RNA) decreased in seven of the wastewater plants last week, it increased in the other locations the report from 30 October said.

A preliminary report published on 29 October said that “the overall trend is, however, downward rather than upward” although warning that significant fluctuations were possible and that the virus was still being measured in the range of high values.

The amount of virus particles measured in the wastewater was three times as high last week than it was during the height of the first wave of the pandemic at the end of March.

The covid-19 task force--composed of scientists from Luxembourg’s public research institutions--also warned of a “volatile” situation. The speed at which the virus is spreading, “even if slightly relaxed, still corresponds to an exponential dynamic,” they said in their latest report. This was delivered to the government on Friday but only made public on 2 November.

The group slightly adjusted their medium-term projections from 1,400 new daily infections by mid-November to 1,300. However, these numbers include cross-border infections, which are not currently communicated by the government.

“This is putting contact tracing beyond the limits,” the report said. “Mitigation of the epidemic wave relies on the common social effort in reducing physical interactions, respecting hygiene measures and active participation in large scale testing.”