In the context of the large-scale testing campaign, every Luxembourg resident was tested 3.6 times on average. The overall positivity rate is 2.6% and thus at a relatively low level. For comparison: In Germany, this rate, which measures the percentage between positive test results and the overall number of tests carried out, is 5.6% and even 17% in the Netherlands.
In addition to large-scale testing, Luxembourg has also conducted representative serological sampling among its residents on a weekly basis since last November. The data collected until 15 January 2021 indicate a seroprevalence of 7.7%, which extrapolated to the whole population corresponds to 48,264 expected cases. This, in turn, means that only 0.8% of all Covid-19 cases are not detected.
The three researchers also stressed that incidence rate vary considerably between different countries, and this usually according to the testing strategy applied. The incidence rate should thus not be the only reference value and should instead be considered alongside the positivity rate and the occupancy rate of the intensive care units in a country’s hospitals.
You can read the entire article here.
