More than 91,000 people in Austria are currently considered to be “actively ill” – in Styria there are around 11,300. The numbers are regarding as high as they were last in mid-July or last November – at the peak of the autumn wave of 2021. At that time, however, testing was carried out much more frequently. At schools, for example, there are currently no regular tests.
Less dangerous but more infectious
It is therefore assumed that the number of unreported cases might be a lot higher, says Robert Krause, head of infectiology at the Medical University of Graz: “Now we have viruses that are not quite as dangerous as Delta was back then. But they are much more infectious, so the disease is easier to transmit and more people can be infected.”
The numbers can currently rise or fall by leaps and bounds. It is therefore difficult to make predictions. This also applies to the occupancy of the hospitals: “Of course the situation is tense. Covid came unexpectedly early with this severity and that is worrying.” On Thursday, 1,464 hospital patients with the corona virus were counted across Austria.
Expert advises vaccination
The infectiologist recommends vaccination, even for people who have already been vaccinated three times and had an infection in winter or before: “The last immunization was more than six months ago. Vaccination is advisable here.” This further reduces the risk of developing a severe course of the disease.
Long-Covid cannot be ruled out despite vaccination, but the probability of suffering from a longer illness is reduced by a fourth vaccination, according to Krause. New vaccines adapted to the Omicron variants BA4/BA5 will be delivered in Styria this week.
