Luxembourg tightens COVID-19 rules to avoid lockdown

The latest developments were announced at a press-conference held Monday, 23 November

Luxembourg will be introducing new and stricter measures aimed to limit the contacts between people who are not members of the same household. The new rules, aimed to avoid the introduction of a total lockdown, were announced at a press conference by Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and Health Minister Paulette Lenert (available in French) on the evening of 23 November.

A balanced approach protects the healthcare system and the economy

Although stable, the level of new contaminations observed in Luxembourg remains too high, the authorities concluded. The country has been recording over 500 new cases per day lately – a red line that the government had decided not to cross. In the short term, this is still manageable, as many operations and healthcare interventions can be postponed, but this is not a long-term solution.

For this reason, and to avoid a second lockdown and preserve the economy, Luxembourg will be introducing new measures and extend some of the existing ones. They should enter into force after an approval by Parliament as of Thursday 26 November for a period of three weeks.

The government aims for a balanced approach, limiting the activities where social interactions are most common. Hence, the set of rules to be approved includes:

• Leisure facilities for non-professional athletes, like gyms, sports halls, indoor playgrounds and pools will close;
• culture institutions like cinemas and theatres, accepting visitors into closed spaces for a prolonged period of time should also shut doors;
• banning of mass events;
• closing of the hotels and restaurants sector (bars, cafés and restaurants);
• home visits to be limited to 2 guests, children included;
• the existing curfew to be extended to 15 December.

Finally, shops, art galleries and museums can remain open, but the authorities urged people to avoid turning shopping into a social event and to strictly avoid mixing up with people outside of their households.