Luxembourg is planning to deploy its army next month to help test people that have only received one dose of the vaccine so far, as stricter measures for the unvaccinated are kicking in for leisure activities and work.
Around 150 soldiers are expected to be present in five test centers from the middle of January, Defence Minister François Bausch said. “No other [government body] could have done that,” Bausch said at an end-of-year celebration by the military on Wednesday.
Employees who have received a first dose of the vaccine can be tested free of charge as of 14 January 2022, Bausch said in a press release on Thursday. The army would provide antigenic tests in the country’s five test centres.
As of this Friday, bars and restaurants will require customers to show proof they have been fully vaccinated or have recovered from the disease.
And as of 15 January, it will also become harder for workers wanting to enter their offices, although in their case proof they have recently tested negative for the virus is also still enough. The government will now help people who have received only one of the two required shots of the vaccine.
As of Thursday, people receiving their first injection will be handed a series of codes allowing them to carry out free certified antigenic self-tests in one of the five testing centres managed by the army, until they have obtained a complete vaccination scheme by 28 February 2022.
Bausch, and the army’s chief of staff, Steve Thull, will present the details of the test campaign 5 January 2022, the press release said.
Luxembourg’s army had been previously handed out face masks to certain professions. Germany has already deployed its military to test citizens, while the UK has used the army in its vaccination campaign.
(Additional reporting by Patrick Jacquemot and Marc Hoscheid)
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