“The situation has changed due to the new variants” said Dr Paul Wilmes, the spokesperson of the task force. In their weekly report, the task force projects that Luxembourg is about to face another wave.
According to their models, the peak of that wave would be in May and the extent of said wave will be similar to the one in November. Wilmes said that this is due to the new variants which are more contagious than the previous one.
Particularly the British mutation circulated rapidly in January. Wilmes said that they expect infections to rise again.
Wilmes also said that the carnival holidays and school closures did not have a big impact on infections. As the number of new infections has been steady despite school closures and other social distancing measures, it is to be expected that once social contacts increase again infections will go up too.
The task force recommends that new measures be put in place to suppress the spread of new variants. However, Wilmes stressed that a renewed hard lockdown would not be the solution, rather society will need to learn to live with the virus. More focussed studies are needed to analyse the efficacy of some measures, according to Wilmes.
Wilmes also said that for the time being vaccinations will not make an impact on the spread of the virus nor on hospitalisations. Vulnerable people are being jabbed, but new variants could still cause more severe illnesses in young adults and children.
