François Koepp, secretary general of the Horesca foundation, talked to our colleagues at RTL about the ongoing vaccination efforts and the reopening of the hospitality sector. Although the government has provided some details on the lifting of restrictions, a lot of questions remain open at this point.
Most notably, the representative organisation argued that rapid tests should be valid for multiple businesses, to which the Ministry of Health has yet to issue a response. Koepp concluded: “They are still debating in the Chamber’s health commission, but for me, the proposition is not feasible in practice.”
It is however clear that clients can conduct the rapid tests inside restaurants and bars, Koepp acknowledged: “Every establishment is free to decide on how to organise their procedures, but at least nobody is left standing in the rain.” Alternatively, clients may bring the negative results from a PCR test, no older than 72 hours, or from a certified rapid test, no older than 24 hours.
From Monday to Wednesday, business will receive 500,000 rapid tests for their clients. Invitation letters for further tests, destined to be used by staff members, have also been sent out. Horesca additionally wants personnel from the hospitality sector to be prioritised in the vaccination campaign: “Right now, we are already in contact with a daily average of 150,000 people. Once restrictions are lifted and more people stop working from home, that number will increase to 200,000. I think our demand is reasonable.”
Chamber of Commerce Luxembourg: Self-Tests - A User Guide to Support Businesses
