Luxembourg has begun offering a free coronavirus test to all returning holidaymakers as it continues an aggressive mass-testing programme that its government says has led to the country being unfairly penalised by fellow EU member states.
According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the Grand Duchy has Europe’s highest 14-day cumulative number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants at 120.1, ahead of Spain with 115.7.
That headline figure masks what is also by far Europe’s most ambitious testing scheme: according to the scientific online publication Our World in Data, Luxembourg has carried out more than 727 Covid-19 tests per 1,000 inhabitants.
On the latest available data, that also places the country, which has a population of about 625,000 people, at the top of the world rankings, ahead of the United Arab Emirates (582 tests per 1,000 inhabitants), Bahrain (555), Malta (313) and Denmark (310).
But the success of the scheme, which parliament recently voted to extend and expand to 53,000 tests a week, has revealed an infection rate that has prompted several European countries, including Germany and the UK, to place it on a travel blacklist.
While new daily infections are falling after a post-lockdown peak of more than 100 in late July, Luxembourg, which has recorded a total of 7,469 Covid-19 cases and 124 deaths, is still considered a high risk by a dozen EU countries.
Brazil 2,859,073 cases, 97,256 deaths
President Jair Bolsonaro dismissed the disease as a “little flu” as it rampaged through his country and mocked measures such as wearing masks. Two health ministers have quit and Brazil's outbreak is the second-deadliest in the world.
India 1,964,536 cases, 40,699 deaths
India brought in a strict nationwide lockdown in March that slowed the spread of the virus but did not bring it under control. As the country began easing controls, cases surged and it now has the third highest number. Mortality rates are low, but it is unclear if this reflects reporting problems or a relatively resilient population.
Iran 317,000 cases, 17,800 deaths
Iran had one of the first major outbreaks outside China. A lockdown slowed its spread but after that was eased in April, cases rebounded. Several senior officials have tested positive, and the government has strengthened controls, including making masks obligatory in public places.
Israel 78,300 cases, 565 deaths
Israel had an early travel ban and strict lockdowns, and in April the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, declared the country an example to the world in controlling Covid-19. But cases that in May were down to just 20 a day, skyrocketed after the country started opening up. Partial controls have been brought back with warnings more could follow.
Mexico 456,100 cases, 49,698 deaths
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador joined other populists from across the political spectrum in dismissing the threat from coronavirus; when schools closed in March he shared a video of himself hugging fans and kissing a baby. The outbreak is now one of the worst on the continent.
Philippines 115,980 cases, 2,123 deaths
A strict lockdown from March to June kept the disease under control but shrank the economy for the first time in 20 years. Cases have climbed steadily since the country started coming out of lockdown, and President Rodrigo Duterte has said the country cannot afford to fully reopen because it would be overwhelmed by another spike.
Russia 865,000 cases, 14,465 deaths
Coronavirus was slow to arrive in Russia, and travel bans and a lockdown initially slowed its spread, but controls were lifted twice for political reasons – a military parade and a referendum on allowing Putin to stay in power longer. Despite having the fourth biggest outbreak in the world, controls are now being eased nationwide.
Serbia 27,000 cases, 614 deaths
Cases are rising rapidly, hospitals are full and doctors exhausted. But the government has rowed back from plans to bring back lockdown controls, after two days of violent protests. Critics blame the sharp rise in cases on authorities who allowed mass gatherings in May and elections in June. Officials say it is due to a lack of sanitary discipline, especially in nightclubs.
South Africa 529,000 cases, 9,200 deaths
South Africa has by far the largest outbreak on the African continent, despite one of the strictest lockdowns in the world. Sales of alcohol and cigarettes were even banned. But it began reopening in May, apparently fuelling the recent rise in cases.
US 158,000 deaths, 4.8m cases
The US ban on travellers from overseas came late, and though most states had lockdowns of some form in spring, they varied in length and strictness. Some places that were among the earliest to lift them are now battling fast-rising outbreaks, and the country has the highest number of confirmed cases and deaths. Opposition to lockdowns and mask-wearing remains widespread.
Source: Johns Hopkins CSSE, 6 August
“Luxembourg has become a victim of its testing strategy, which lays bare what other countries may not see yet,” the country’s health minister, Paulette Lenert, said last month.
The Grand Duchy would not change its approach “even if it has to pay a price now”, she said, adding that it was “a bit unfair when other countries who don’t have the same ambition are just looking at this”.
The foreign minister, Jean Asselborn, last week demanded that with daily infections falling again, the Grand Duchy should be removed from neighbouring Germany’s blacklist, saying essential cross-border travel was being severely disrupted.
Parliament in July approved €60m for the country’s extended asymptomatic testing programme, which will continue until spring with 1.6m new tests prioritising employees in healthcare, law enforcement, hospitality, care homes and hospitals.
Luxembourg authorities will also continue testing a sample of the 200,000 commuters who cross its borders every day to work in the Grand Duchy. So far, they say, this has led to 1,351 non-resident commuters testing positive – cases that may not have been picked up in their home countries.
The ECDC has praised Luxembourg’s testing-and-tracing programme, saying such methods mean countries are better equipped to quickly detect an increase in cases, identify groups at risk and limit the risks of new increases in infections.
“Large-scale testing plays a key role in controlling transmission within a population, ensuring complete contact tracing and as the basis for effective surveillance,” the Stockholm-based organisation said.
“Test results help guide decisions to put in place public health measures. Large-scale testing is crucial to quickly identify local outbreaks and thus avoid risk mitigation measures applicable to the entire population.”
