Luxembourg goes into complete lockdown as COVID 19 spreads

Monday, March 16, 2020

Luxembourg went on lockdown with people ordered to stay at home unless on urgent business, and with restaurants and shops closing, as the country fights to prevent the spread of the deadly Corona virus. The workers coming from Germany to Luxembourg will need a certificate to prove they work here, the government said on Monday, with tighter border controls expected to mitigate the spread of the Coronavirus.  The novel coronavirus has gone global reaching most of the Asian nations and European countries. This outburst in China now becomes a worldwide pandemic. Since it was first identified in mid-December (Wuhan Province in China), the virus has killed more than 6,512 people worldwide. It is also reported that 169,377 confirmed infected.

Luxembourg announced that the measures on Monday so that workers from Germany could still enter the country in case of tighter border controls.

Luxembourg has been on lockdown as of midnight Sunday with restaurants, cinemas and fitness clubs ordered closed in a bid to prevent the spread of the COVID 19 virus. There are now 77 cases of the COVID-19 virus in Luxembourg and with 1.2 cases per 10,000 inhabitants, the infection rate is higher than in neighbouring countries, the latest data shows.

Germany has 4,500 cases, the equivalent of 0.5 per 10,000 people. In France, also with nearly 4,500 cases, the ratio is 0.7 per 10,000, and in Belgium, where there 690 patients, it is 0.6 per 10,000.

The people should only leave their homes to buy food, go to work, or help others in need, Bettel said during a press conference on Sunday evening. The shops would close, though supermarkets and other food retailers would remain open, as would banks, pharmacies, gas stations, and some others.

People may still go for a walk or a run outdoors but should keep a distance of two metres between each other, Bettel said. Vulnerable people should stay at home as much as possible, and companies were urged to allow remote working as much as possible.

Luxembourg reported 77 cases of the COVID-19 virus, double the number from Friday, when 38 people were known to have been infected. A week ago, there were just four. With 1.2 cases per 10,000 inhabitants, Luxembourg’s infection rate is higher than in neighbouring countries, the latest data shows.

Germany has 4,500 cases, the equivalent of 0.5 per 10,000 people. In France, also with nearly 4,500 cases, the ratio is 0.7 per 10,000, and in Belgium, where there 690 patients, it is 0.6 per 10,000.

The health minister Paulette Lenert said that Europe is the epicentre of the crisis and Luxembourg is at the centre of Europe.

Three maisons médicales – generalist clinics normally only open out of hours – will be converted into centres for corona patients. This will help keep suspected cases away from general practitioners’ offices and hospital emergency rooms, and allow the concentration of resources. The European Union is busy finding out if there are any gaps in the amount of medical material to deal with the pandemic, Lenert said.

There were no plans to close the borders with Belgium and France, Bettel said. Germany has announced increased tighter checks on a number of its borders – though not with Luxembourg – and cross-border workers were still allowed in the instances where these were happening.

Nor did the government announce a travel ban, though Bettel and Lenert declined to answer any questions on Sunday evening.

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