A task force has been set up in order to offer the health system the combined expertise available within the Luxembourg public research sector, comprising the organisations of the LIH, LISER, LIST, LNS, University, FNR, under the coordination of the Ministry of Higher Education and Research.
The task force will seek to coordinate the provision of support from the national research community to healthcare providers and the government in order to contain the current Covid-19 pandemic.
It will also help to identify and centralise a variety of activities, using cross-sectoral expertise in molecular biology, epidemiology, clinical trials and fundamental research.
The group will also act as a point of contact between the national research ecosystem, the clinical community and the authorities.
Among the activities undertaken by the task force, three will form the main pillars of the initiative:
· A prevalence study to assess the extent of the spread of the virus and the number of asymptomatic individuals;
· A stratification study in which researchers attempt to identify risk factors that contribute negatively to disease progression;
· Statistical simulations on the evolution, impact and spread of the Covid-19 pandemic to provide short- and medium-term projections and thus facilitate decision-making on when restrictions could be lifted.
Research institutions have already provided the health sector with equipment and specialised personnel, while many doctors in training have volunteered to support hospital staff in the four hospital establishments in Luxembourg.
To enable this initiative, the government, with the support of the University of Luxembourg and the doctors involved in this training, has adjusted the relevant regulatory framework and adopted necessary measures to enable the deployment of these volunteers in the coming days. Likewise, nurses working in research as well as students in medicine are also being trained to support hospital staff.
In addition, nearly all the scientific data and publications on Covid-19 have been made freely accessible in digital form, following international pressure by governments and research funding agencies.
This data is a very valuable resource, easily amenable to text and data mining using artificial intelligence techniques. This is an area in which Luxembourg has strong expertise.
To accelerate these efforts and to stimulate new ideas and new collaborations between researchers, additional funding will be provided by the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR).
Given the urgency of the situation, quick funding decisions will be ensured.
