Closure of restaurants, cafés, cinemas… extension of the curfew, a maximum of two guests at home: All of these measures are due to come into force on Thursday 25 November and will apply until 15 December 2020.
In less than 24 hours, the return to a partial lockdown should thus become a reality in Luxembourg, unless there is an unexpected political turnaround. A "necessary brake" to curb the pandemic, as Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and Minister of Health Paulette Lenert explained at length on Monday.
The infamous bill 7694, recently criticised by the Consultative Commission on Human Rights (CCDH), will be debated in the Chamber of Deputies in public session at 2 pm on Wednesday.
Following their validation by the Council of State on Monday, the new anti Covid-19 regulations have already been debated and then adopted in the Parliamentary Health Commission on Tuesday, in the presence of Minister of Health Paulette Lenert from the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP).
On Tuesday afternoon, the report of MP Mars Di Bartolomeo (LSAP) on the bill was adopted with the votes of the majority parties (DP, LSAP, Déi Gréng), while the parliamentary opposition (CSV, adr, Piraten, Déi Lénk) voted against the report.
Several points will likely still be cause for debate on Wednesday, e.g. the usefulness of allowing people to only invite a maximum of two people instead of just one "household" (which would include a couple with their children), the question of why school canteens are allowed to remain open while restaurants and professional canteens are closing, or a number questions around the practice of sports.
The regulations will come into force following their publication in the Official Journal. Publication is "very likely" to take place starting on the evening of Wednesday 25 November, according to the website of the Chamber of Deputies.
The new rules applying to secondary schools will come into force on Monday. They have been decreed by the government.
