The new coronavirus variant Omicron is spreading rapidly. By the end of calendar week 49, 86 cases had been confirmed in Austria using PCR testing or sequencing, with 211 added in the past week alone.
This brings the total number of confirmed cases of the new variant to 297 by the end of calendar week 50. This is according to the update of the variant report published today by the Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES).
Omicron had first been registered in Austria in calendar week 47, when there were six cases. In calendar week 48, 32 cases were registered, and in week 49, there were 48. Last week, there was a jump with 211 more Omikron cases.
193 of the 297 cases of the new variant were confirmed in Vienna. However, this can also be explained by the fact that the “Alles gurgelt!” tests are only used on a large scale in Vienna, according to the office of Health City Councilor Peter Hacker (SPÖ). “‘Alles gurgelt!” is so far the only system that immediately pre-tests for variants in case of a positive result – which makes it easier to track down Omikron cases. That’s why, with the new year, schools are also testing with it.”
Overall numbers are still low, however. The delta variant continues to dominate, with 1,293 new cases added last week – but with a sharp downward trend. In calendar week 49 there were 2,787 delta cases, in week 48 4,812 and in week 47 even 5,769.
- source: orf.at/picture:Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
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