Three years after the outbreak of the Coronavirus the last health measures are planned to be lifted: A draft text seeks to abolish the mask mandate in certain locations as well as ending isolation for individuals testing positive with Covid-19.
It is expected to come into effect on 1 April the latest.
The Luxembourg Hospital Federation welcomes the change: "Working with a mask for three years was unreasonable and exhausting. I think this change is welcomed by all health personnel," says Dr Philippe Turk, President of the federation.
It does raise the question how health staff should deal with other respiratory infections. Hygiene and protection measures could be kept in place, but a general mask mandate were no longer recommended in hospitals, according to Dr Turk.
COPAS, the umbrella organisation of nursing and caregiving staff, is of a similar opinion. President Marc Fischbach: "It makes no sense to formulate additional recommendations that have no legal basis. We believe Covid should be treated like any other infection, just like prior to the pandemic."
At the end of the day it were up to health structures themselves to define protective measures.
Residents of care homes have not been required to wear masks for a long time already, but this draft bill also allows health personnel to remove them. Masks made speaking and hearing very difficult, residents say. It became harder to recognise and remember faces, and those employees starting during the pandemic were never 'fully' seen.
Finally, residents have expressed they are not afraid of Covid, especially given the fact most have been vaccinated four times.
