Federspiel used the opportunity of the interview to provide detailed insight of the Covid situation in one of the country's senior centres. With 262 deaths, cases that occurred in retirement and care homes make up half of Luxembourg's Covid fatality rate.
Nevertheless, perspective is still important, Dr Federspiel underlined on Thursday morning. Death rates in senior homes have always been elevated, even if the statistics have only entered into the public gaze since March last year. In regular times, they usually record a 20 to 30% mortality rate.
One should also consider that these institutions often represent the final phase in people's lives and that the average resident is 85 years old. Vulnerability for the coronavirus is thus a given.
At the moment, there are 55 active infections circulating in Luxembourg's retirement and care homes.
Since March last year, all possible precautions have become standard across the institutions. And yet, the infection wave that hit the country in autumn was still able to make its way inside and cause a number of premature deaths. Furthermore, several staff members contracted the virus as a result of their hazardous occupation. Even if all measures are respected and executed with great care, there are no guarantees that infections can be avoided altogether, Dr Federspiel emphasised.
The majority of family members that visit the retirement and care homes are attentive to the safety standards, Dr Federspiel further conveyed. It can however be challenging to explain the importance of keeping distance and wearing a mask to dementia patients, she noted. And naturally, many of their residents occasionally go home for a family visit, which always poses a certain risk.
It also remains difficult to accurately assess where a new infection occurred, as they are either brought in by family or staff members. The Large Scale Testing mechanism therefore conducts regular controls of all residents and employees across the country's institutions.
1,090 residents have been vaccinated so far. On Monday, the next phase in the process will be launched with mobile units coming to eleven other senior and care homes until 5 February. They will now also be able to vaccinate employees. Starting 3 February, residents in homes for people with disabilities will be vaccinated as part of the third phase.
Dr Federspiel appeals to health care workers to gather information on the vaccine and familiarise themselves with the procedure. She considers it to be of upmost importance that the country's staff is healthy and ready to perform. She further argued that something needed to be done about the low participation rate and announced that she would convene with officials from the ministry of health on a weekly basis.
When asked about the recent deaths of vaccinated people above the age of 75 in Norway, Dr Federspiel said that this had no affect on the national strategy, just like the one in Norway will remain unchanged. Analysis of the cases had shown no direct correlation between the deaths and the vaccine. She finally underlined that the vaccine remained the best chance for people to avoid a critical struggle with Covid-19.
