Luxembourg to tighten lockdown after Christmas
![Credit: CC0 Public Domain lockdown](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2020/1-lockdown.jpg)
Luxembourg will join its European neighbours in reinforcing virus lockdown rules after Christmas, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel announced Monday.
From December 26 the overnight curfew will begin two hours earlier at 9.00pm and shops deemed non-essential will be told to close down.
The reopening of schools after the Christmas and New Year break will be postponed until January 10.
Luxembourg's coronavirus figures have been improving but the situation remains worrying, with rising case numbers in neighbouring countries.
Flights from the UK have been temporarily suspended, after British scientists identified a new strain of COVID-19 that seems to spread more quickly.
The grand duchy will begin a vaccination drive on December 28, after the European Commission has authorised the first of several candidate vaccines.
At least 444 people have been killed by the coronavirus epidemic in the landlocked country of 626,000, and the per capita case count remains one of the highest in Europe.
© 2020 AFP