New Covid-19 law passes with 31 votes

Existing coronavirus measures will be relaxed, notably by switching from the 2G system to a generalised 3G regime for leisure, sports, and cultural activities.

This means that people will have to provide either proof of vaccination or recovery, or a certified negative test result to pass CovidCheck. In the case of hospitals and retirement homes, visitors will also have to take an additional rapid test on site as part of the so-called '3G+' regime.

The 3G regime at the workplace will be made voluntary for companies in the private sector, although the public sector will continue to enforce it.

The 11pm curfew for bars and restaurants will be dropped, while the CovidCheck system will also no longer be mandatory for people receiving guests in their own home.

Mandatory quarantine for those who have been in contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19 will be lifted. On the other hand, isolation will remain mandatory for those who test positive.

People will however be allowed to leave isolation after testing negative for two days in a row.

The new measures are set to come into force on Friday evening.

Chamber report

CSV party president Claude Wiseler levelled strong criticism at the governing coalition, accusing them of going back and forth on decisions and querying the reasons behind the easing of restrictions.

Both Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and Minister of Health Paulette Lenert explained the decision to roll back restrictions was based on empirical data, which showed a drop in hospitalisations for people suffering from the Omicron variant.

Lenert added that it was difficult to gauge how the situation might have otherwise developed, had there been no restrictions in place over the past two months, and predictions were virtually impossible based on variants and vaccine efficacy.

Josée Lorsché of the Green Party said that criticisms were easy, but managing a pandemic was not.

The remainder of the opposition took the opportunity to criticise the new measures, with the Pirates' Sven Clement querying the new strategy. Nathalie Oberweis of Déi Lénk asked why rapid tests were now the solution when previously they had been viewed as a weak link in the testing strategy. The ADR's Jeff Engelen insisted that Covid passports be abolished and "freedom" returned on what he called a "Freedom Day" on 1 March.

The opposition also called for a new pandemic law, which Lenert said would be addressed once the pandemic had concluded, in order to make best use of the knowledge gained.

The Covid law rapporteur, LSAP MP Mars Di Bartolomeo, highlighted that even if a number of freedoms were restored, the virus would still be prevalent, and urged the public to exercise caution over the half-term Carnival holiday.