So far, 71 cases of Omicron have been confirmed in Austria

The first cases of Omicron were recorded in Austria in the week of November 22. For now, the delta variant is still dominant, and new infections in Omicron are expected to peak in January.

In Austria, the number of Omikron cases is increasing, albeit (still) at a low level: according to the current AGES variable report, there are now 71 infections that can be attributed to this new type of coronavirus. The first five cases of Omikron were recorded in calendar week 47 (from November 22 to 28). The delta variant is still dominant and clearly dominant in Austria at the moment.

With the exception of Vorarlberg and Styria, as of December 14, there are now confirmed Omikron cases in all other federal states: 37 in Vienna, 15 in Upper Austria, 7 in Lower Austria, 6 in Tyrol, 3 in Salzburg, 2 in Burgenland and one in Carinthia.

The World Health Organization has classified five different types of coronavirus as “variants of concern”. They include Alpha (B.1.1.7), Beta (B.1.351), Gamma (P.1), Delta (B.1.617.2) and most recently Omikron (B.1.1.529). According to the data, the latter is more contagious than the delta variant and therefore spreads faster. In its rolling report, AGES lists the number of confirmed coronavirus cases and a “alternative of concern” that have been identified based on PCR or sequencing testing procedures.

In the past calendar weeks, there have been few cases in Austria that could be assigned to the alpha variant. Otherwise, the infection process in the country is taking place mainly in the delta region, in addition to an increase in the number of Omicron cases for three weeks, since the end of November. At calendar week 48, AGES documented 28 omicron cases; The following week, as of December 12, there were already 38 cases. A strong increase in new infections with Omicron is expected in Austria in the next few weeks. A peak is expected in January.

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