As part of the deconfinement, Luxembourg is calling on its residents and cross-border workers to get tested for COVID-19. It aims to limit the spread of the novel corona virus by voluntary extensive testing until the end of July. This will allow to break infection chains and thus protect family, friends and colleagues. The more tests are carried out, the more new infections can be prevented and the safer everyday life will be.

From 27 May to 28 July 2020, a total of 17 “drive-through” and 2 “walk-through & bike-through” test stations will become available across the country to carry out up to 20,000 tests per day. Citizens and cross-border workers are divided into representative groups that receive invitations by post to get tested voluntarily.

Who will be tested and when?

The testing starts already this week: about 6,000 high school graduates and For the large-scale testing, the population is divided into 3 categories depending on their risk of being exposed to the virus:

Where will the testing take place?

A total of 17 drive-through test stations are spread across the country. They are located in Neudorf, Niederanven, Ersange, Frisange, Dippach, Steinfort Windhof, Steinfort P&R, Machtum, Junglinster, Schieren, Schinkert, Luxembourg-Bouillon, Kirchberg, Howald, Bascharage, Belval and Esch-sur-Alzette. In addition, walk-throughs are planned in Belval, Kirchberg and at the Rotonde close to the train station in Luxembourg city. A total of 400 people will be working at these stations in the next two and a half months. These are nurses, security and cleaning staff, administrators, logisticians and coordinators.

How does the testing work?

Citizens and cross-border workers will receive an invitation per post, which will allow them book a test appointment online at one of the testing stations. On the selected date, the person goes to the testing site, where they present their invitation, ID card and their insurance card. A throat swab is then carried out and sent to the laboratory. The tested person leaves the test site and receives the test result via SMS within two days. If the result of the test is positive, the person is contacted personally by the Inspection Sanitaire and will be asked to spend two weeks at home in self-isolation. If the test result is negative, the person must continue to follow the usual protective measures and can return to everyday life.

Who are the partners within this project?

The project has been developed by Research Luxembourg’s COVID-19 Task Force and is led by the Luxembourg Institute of Health. The tests are carried out by its contractual partner Laboratoires Réunis, which are logistically supported by Ecolog.

What is the COVID-19 Task Force?

Efficient measures in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic require close cooperation between research, hospitals and the Government in Luxembourg. For this reason, Research Luxembourg (LIH, LISER, LIST, LNS, Luxinnovation, University of Luxembourg and FNR, under the coordination of the Ministry of Higher Education and Research) has set up the COVID-19 Task Force in order to better implement relevant initiatives. Based on a list of priorities elaborated by ministries and other partners, a number of work packages have been defined, which the COVID-19 Task Force will work on in the coming weeks and months. In cooperation with the government, the COVID-19 Task Force sees its role in providing scientific input to enable the government to work on a fact-based EXIT strategy. To this end, the COVID-19 Task Force is continuously working on updates on the development of the pandemic in Luxembourg and submits concepts and recommendations from a scientific perspective so that they can be incorporated into the political decision-making process.