The politician from the Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party (LSAP) made these statements in an interview with our colleagues from RTL.lu on Friday morning. Lenert stated that there are currently no plans for further restrictions, for instance when it comes to the announced CovidCheck regime at the workplace. However, should it turn out that Omicron is not as “mild” as currently expected, additional restrictions can always be introduced later, Lenert said.
The Minister stated that she is “not surprised” that infection numbers have suddenly shot through the roof to such an extent in Luxembourg. The latest Covid-19 law, which MPs voted on on Christmas Eve, was specifically introduced in anticipation of such a scenario, Lenert pointed out. Over the course of the following days, the government might take a decision to shorten the isolation period for those infected with the Omicron variant. Nevertheless, Lenert stressed, self-isolating when tested positive is now “more important than ever” in light of the Omicron variant. If employees are able to reach an agreement with their employer to resort to telework during their isolation, if they are not seriously ill, then there is nothing that would speak against doing so, Lenert said. Experts are also currently considering how to proceed with those who have received two vaccine doses and have now been infected with Covid-19.
One way to fight the spread of Omicron is vaccination and booster shots. Administration of first doses is, however, stagnating at the moment. The number of people who received their first dose last week has not been this low since late November. And this despite stricter measures. When asked why the vaccination campaign is still moving along so slowly, Lenert explained that it is less a question of staff, of which there is enough, and more an issue of vaccine capacities. The latter are currently “limited”, according to the Minister. For this reason, the campaign is currently administering shots according to prioritisation (vulnerability, age, and time passed since the last shot). In January, the delay in relation to the last dose will be further decreased from five to four months. However, Lenert revealed that the government had discussions with experts this week to administer additional shots as soon as three months after the last dose. This would, for instance, help solve the issue that young people under the age of 18 are currently not eligible for a booster.
Previously, the Green Party, the Christian Social People’s Party (CSV), and the Pirate Party submitted parliamentary questions enquiring about the impact of ‘2G+' measures (vaccinated OR recovered AND a negative test) on minors, asking the government what it plans to do to counteract this disadvantage and whether under-18s will soon be able to receive their booster shots.
