Professor Muller said the reopening was a logical consequence of current infection rates, and said the government had made the announcement at the right time. He also theorised that the majority of future infections would be imported.
The virologist added that the Delta variant (formerly known as the Indian variant) was potentially more infectious and therefore 50% less likely to be neutralised through antibodies.
However, this does not mean cellular immunity will have the same effect, said Professor Muller. He added that it was difficult to estimate the severity of the illness with this variant, due to the differences in healthcare available in the UK and India, for example.
A person who did not have symptoms, but shows a positive result for the antibody test, is not currently considered as "recovered" when it comes to the Covid check certificate.
Professor Muller explained the government currently views a positive PCR test within the last six months as proof that a person has recovered from the virus, based on data gathered by the Ministry of Health and its partners.
However, he added that he personally believed that antibody tests would become more important in the future, overtaking PCR tests in importance.
According to Professor Muller, it is not too early to add antibody tests as one of the conditions for the Covid check certificate. He said it was primarily down to practical reasons, as the Ministry of Health does not yet have the capacity to integrate antibody test results, but from a scientific point of view they should be considered in the future.
Interview in Luxembourgish:
