The closing of borders and the grounding of flights have confined the expat community to the Grand-Duchy's territory, most being unable to visit family and friends in their country of birth. An unusual turn of events, which will leave many people rather lonely over the Easter days.
RTL's Ben Andrews has visited some of Luxembourg's expats and discussed recent events with them and how they and their families adjusted to live at home.
Kiran Nambiar from India works at "Foundry Luxembourg" and covers his tasks from home. He spends his newly gained time with workouts and cooking, trying out some European dishes and adding an Indian twist to them.
As a reaction to the outbreak, he explains how he adjusted his diet and reduced alcohol consumption to keep his immune system in shape. To cope with the distance between him and his family, Kiran regularly contacts them via video call. For the time that remains, he hopes to learn French and a bit of Luxembourgish to integrate more after the lockdown is being lifted.
Deborah and Fabio are also far away from home. Originally from Brasil, the couple is now living in Luxembourg with their three children.
Fabio works at Amazon, but does so remotely from home for the time being, which completely changed his lifestyle. He appreciates the additional time he gets to spend with his kids. A time of novelty for Deborah as well. The mother relates the challenges of entertaining your children all day, as well as preparing homework and communicating with teachers via video conference.
Although the new measures have given people a stronger sense of protection and safety, Deborah also remarks that nobody really had a choice not to comply with the government's orders.
Apart from the expat community, Luxembourg also has a rich diversity of international students. One such case would be Eunice, a student from Mexico who is currently confined to her student dorm.
"Luckily enough, there are quite a few students living in the building, so we pass time by organising video calls to chat among each other and with occasionally with teachers."
Just like Kiran, Fabio, and Deborah the student approves of Luxembourg's handling of the crisis. "I have a great amount of faith in the authorities and the measures they put in place."
The corona outbreak is of global concern. Even though most people are no longer able to see their families and loved-ones in person, it is consoling to know that they are often close by.
This is not the case for many internationals living in the country. Apart from the physical distance they already had between themselves and their closest, they now have to adjust to life under lockdown.
