2,085 new corona infections in Austria
2,085 new infections have been registered in Austria in the last 24 hours. According to the figures from the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Health (as of Christmas Day 9.30 a.m.), this is almost 300 fewer than the day before, but significantly fewer tests were registered. The seven-day incidence of cases per 100,000 population was unchanged at 172.8. On Christmas Eve it was given as 173.7.
The number of new infections was also below the seven-day average of 2,205 per day. The number of active cases fell from Friday by 1,562 to 30,605. Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been 1,262,836 confirmed cases in Austria, of which 1,218,605 people were considered healthy again. 3,638 patients were reported recovered in the past 24 hours.
Nine people have died from or with Covid disease since yesterday, on a seven-day average it was 23.4 a day. 164 residents were registered in the last seven days. Since the start of the pandemic in Austria, 13,626 deaths have been reported in connection with SARS-CoV-2.
The total number of hospital patients and intensive care patients decreased. With Covid, 1,223 people were in hospital on Christmas Day, 141 fewer than on Christmas Eve. 390 of them were cared for in intensive care units. That number has since decreased by 28 and has decreased by 106 patients in a week. However, given the feared massive increase in infections in connection with the Omicron variant, these are anything but reassuring.
A total of 518,701 rapid PCR and antigen tests were reported in the last 24 hours. Of these, 436,401 were meaningful PCR tests, around 200,000 fewer than reported on Friday. A total of 154,113,368 corona tests have been carried out so far. The positive rate of the PCR tests was 0.5 percent, which was exactly the average of the previous week.
Vaccination was not a priority for Austrians on Christmas Eve: only 5,885 stitches were carried out on Friday. About a tenth (590) of these were first stitches, 1,832 vaccinations were second stitches and 3,463 or 58.84 percent were third stitches. 6,277,608 people and thus 70.3 percent of Austrians have valid vaccination protection.
The protection rate (valid vaccination certificate) is still highest in Burgenland at 75.6 percent. In Lower Austria 72 percent of the population have valid vaccination protection, in Styria 70 percent. This is followed by Vienna (69.5 percent), Tyrol (69.2 percent), Vorarlberg (67.5 percent), Salzburg (66.9 percent) and Carinthia (also 66.9 percent). Upper Austria continues to bring up the rear with 66 percent.
Most new infections were registered in Vienna with 584, Lower Austria with 335 and Upper Austria with 279. 244 new infections were reported from Tyrol, 220 from Styria, 139 from Salzburg, 129 from Carinthia, 115 from Vorarlberg and 40 from Burgenland.
Data on the development of infections with the Omikron variant were also not available on Christmas Day. Experts expect that Omikron will soon be the dominant coronavirus variant in Austria. Infectiologist Christoph Wenisch said in an interview with the “Kurier” that the variant was “a Christmas present”. Omikron will “let us rethink quickly and measures – such as whether you have to go into quarantine with a cold – will have to be reassessed”. At the beginning of the pandemic it was said that Covid-19 was about ten times as severe as influenza. “At the end of 2020, Covid-19 was only three times as severe as influenza. If the virus is easier to transmit, it becomes less virulent, ”says Wenisch. However, the coronavirus will no longer go away, “we have to endure the virus”.