Numerous ministers held press briefings on Thursday to inform the public of measures taken by their respective ministries in tackling the coronacrisis.
Earlier on Thursday François Bausch, deputy prime minister, minister of internal security and minister for transport, provided further details on public transport and the closing of Luxembourg's airport for regular passenger flights as of Monday.
Later in the day Minister of Health Paulette Lenert provided a brief press conference at 4pm, followed by Minister of Labour, Employment and the Social and Solidarity Economy Dan Kersch and Minister of Social Security Romain Schneider at 5pm. Here's a brief roundup of key points.
Luxembourg is testing 750 people per day, six people recovered
On Thursday 19 March there were 335 confirmed cases and 4 deaths, Lenert said, confirming that the patients that had died were above the age of 80 and were suffering from preexisting conditions. The average age of those infected lies at around 46. Roughly 750 individuals are being tested on a daily basis, which could surely be thanks to the opening of three drive-through testing facilities.
Minister Schneider emphasised the dialogue between doctors and patients, and stresses the importance of telecommunication to avoid direct social contact as much as possible.
Our colleagues from 5minutes graphed out the number of confirmed cases over the past days:
Graph
Medical centres are proving to be successful
Four medical centres opened successfully on Thursday and will be operating on all working days between 8am and 4pm (and up until 8pm as of next week). The aim of these centres, which patients can only visit with a GP's prescription, is to remove such patients from emergency services and general medical practices in order to contain the spread of the pandemic.
The minister assured the nation that no complete lockdown is planned and thanked the public for their understanding of the drastic measures already in place.
Cost of saving economy will be "explosive"
Moving on to economy and labour, minister Kersch assured that all salaries will be paid at the end of the month, adding that paid family leave will not affect pay checks. The jobs of numerous people are in jeopardy, and the government has already received a staggering 3,200 demands for partial unemployment in the past weeks alone.
The costs of saving the economy in this time of crisis will be "explosive", said the minister, adding that last year's budget set aside to cover partial unemployment was €11 million - the figure in 2020 could increase by double digets. But he declared that small businesses and independent workers will be supported, no matter at what cost.
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Kersch admitted that not each "standard" controlling procedure can be executed at the moment, but vows that the government will retroactively monitor its expenses. An official video conference will be held on Tuesday 24 March to facilitate the flow of information.
Food self-sufficiency in Luxembourg positive
Minister Schneider reiterated the importance of not pausing production, a big relief for Luxembourg's farms and vineyards. Supply-chains remain unaffected, and he again appealed to the public to avoid panic-buying.
The minister also touched upon the wellbeing of farm animals, concluding that the government remains determined to hold up its current standards.
