In his eyes, the Grand Duchy's situation is not particularly different to that of its neighbouring countries. As such, Apweiler, who also acts as a consultant to the German government, does not consider closing down borders an effective measure to contain the spread of the virus.
Since 2007, Luxembourg has been one of 27 members of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL). The institute uses public funds to carry out basic research. Since the start of the pandemic, the researchers' focus has largely shifted to the coronavirus.
Apweiler is one of the institute's most renowned scientists in his field and a direct advisor to the German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He also serves as the director of the EBI.
In his interview with RTL, the bioinformatic expert explained that by monitoring its sewage treatment plants, Luxembourg had effectively created a sort of "early warning mechanism". In combination with the substantial testing and sequencing efforts, this means that the estimated number of unrecorded cases is much lower in the Grand Duchy compared to Germany.
Apweiler estimates that about 30% of all cases remain unrecorded in Luxembourg, while the same rate could be two to three times higher in Germany. This is one of the reasons why the numbers of both countries cannot be directly compared to each other. The same goes for variants of the virus, Apweiler added, again pointing out the Grand Duchy's substantial sequencing efforts.
When it comes to the variants, Apweiler compares their effects to an old puzzle: After some time, the pieces do not stick to each other as well anymore. The new UK variant, for instance, can be thought of as a mutation of the connecting parts of the puzzle pieces, leading to them sticking together so well that it is very hard to get them apart again. In reality, this means that less viruses are needed to penetrate a cell and infect a host.
The researcher also stressed that similar mutations can and will occur at any time in the future, meaning that authorities need to find different ways to deal with them instead of always going into a lockdown. The focus should be on introducing better sequencing, testing, and contact tracing as well properly funding public health sectors and developing long-term strategies.
At the moment, keeping social interactions to an absolute minimum is still the best way to contain the spread, according to Apweiler. The same rules apply: Keep your distance, wear a mask…etc. However, it may just be time, the scientist added, to implement them a bit more strictly again.
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