Xavier Bettel addressed MPs on Thursday afternoon ahead of the latest vote on Luxembourg's Covid laws. Despite the ongoing vaccination campaign, the crisis is far from over, said the prime minister.
Current Covid restrictions have been in place since January, and will now be extended from 3 April to 25 April.
The only amendment will be the reopening of restaurant and café terraces, albeit under strict conditions, starting 7 April. With that, the 11th version of the Covid law was passed in the Chamber, thanks to the votes of the three government parties.
LSAP MP Mars Di Bartolomeo, rapporteur of the law, described the reopening of terraces as a "timid" opening, which should re-inspire the fight against Covid.
The opposition MPs reiterated their criticisms of the restrictions.
CSV MP Claude Wiseler said the government introduced the measures in January in order to bring Covid infections down, but the opposite had occurred over the past three months. Wiseler repeated a call for a tier system with a clear exit plan for lockdown.
Wiseler quoted Bettel, saying the PM had described the Irish tier system as "bullshit" during the Chamber commission meeting. He pointed out that Ireland's infections had dropped, compared to the Grand Duchy, and asked which term would favourably describe the Luxembourg strategy in comparison.
