Molecular biologist Ulrich Elling warned a few weeks ago of a sharp rise in corona numbers in Austria. In 2023, it was only from around August that a slow increase in wastewater data was recorded at a comparatively low level.
This year, after the extremely high winter wave and a very quiet spring, Covid wastewater values rose significantly in June and July. “If you can already see that there is such a potential (for new infections, note), you have to assume that the wave (or the further increase in it, note) will come earlier than last year.”
Most cases in Vienna
However, current wastewater monitoring shows that the infection rate is already declining in some federal states – especially in Vienna. In other regions (e.g. Burgenland and Lower Austria), however, more cases have recently been detected.
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In any case, experts point out that the population’s immunity has declined – on the one hand because of the low vaccination rate, but also due to the fact that the peak of the last wave (December 2023) was more than six months ago. After the so-called “FLiRT” variants (KP.1.1, KP.2), the JN.1 daughter variant KP.3 (and its daughter variants) is currently gaining ground internationally and also in Austria (so-called “FLuQE” variants, which once again have a growth advantage over “FLiRT”).
