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Austin physicians and staff lined the halls of Ascension Seton Medical Center to celebrate the recovery and release of a COVID-19 patient in a "Code Sunshine" video posted this week on the hospital's Facebook page, bringing light to a tough time when hospitals are overrun with COVID-19 cases.
<p>The patient was released last month from the Austin hospital after a battle with the illness, though no other details were released for privacy reasons. </p><p><a href="https://www.kwtx.com/content/news/Local-hospital-celebrates-discharge-of-first-COVID-19-patient-to-recover-569527181.html" target="_blank">"Code Sunshine"</a> and the attendant celebratory videos have become ubiquitous in the national social media conversation about the pandemic, providing success stories among a rising death toll both in Texas and nationwide. </p>
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Austin Mayor Adler talks COVID, inequity, homelessness and policing in 'State of the City' address
05 August
(City of Austin)
Austin Mayor Steve Adler delivered his annual "State of the City" address Wednesday—virtually.
This story has been updated to include quotes from the mayor's speech.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler delivered his annual "State of the City" address Wednesday evening, in which he discussed the coronavirus pandemic, police funding, the local economy, homelessness, transit and equity issues.
<p>Usually delivered to a crowd at City Hall, tonight's address was—as are all things Council these days—virtual.</p><p>"This could have been a speech only about COVID-19," Adler said. Instead, much of his 25-page address focused on the opportunities presented in this moment. </p><p>"Perhaps only at times such as these, where our routines and inertia are so utterly disrupted, can we be freed and forced to dream and act big," he said. "So let's do big things. Let's end homelessness. Let's bring real mobility to Austin. Let's reimagine how we keep one another safe. Let's address race and do something about correcting centuries of injustice because it is the fundamental injustice that fuels so many others." </p><p>Below are some quotes, excerpted from a transcript shared in advance. </p><p><strong>On the coronavirus</strong> </p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"We all want the local economy—and our lives—back as we knew them. But the governor's decision to reopen before we had sufficient testing and tracing in place and before our numbers were low enough compounded the challenge. … Truth is, the virus was never gone. <a href="https://austonia.com/testing-asymptomatic-austin" target="_blank">It just hides</a>, waiting for us to invite it back into our lives." </p><p><strong>On the economy</strong></p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"Unemployment is at unimaginable levels. Businesses have shuttered - some temporarily and some lost forever. Many of our neighbors don't know how they're going to feed their families or whether they'll be evicted from their homes. Tenants struggle with rent; homeowners and landlords struggle with mortgage payments. Our hospitality and creative workers and industries, so great a part of our economy, are reeling. For many, it's already too late." </p><p><strong>On homelessness</strong> </p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"To the people <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-texas-homeless-petition" target="_blank">that signed on to the petition</a> because they were desperate for a solution for people experiencing homelessness, I want to say that I share your impatience. Having chosen this more just path, though, and having rejected the false promise of cosmetic fixes, our work is incomplete unless we follow through with the commitment to house the homeless. This will require us to do a better job of inclusively managing shared public spaces." </p><p><strong>On transit</strong> </p><p style="margin-left: 40px;">"Project Connect is <a href="https://austonia.com/transportation/project-connect-austin" target="_blank">a bold transit plan</a> for the just and accessible city we aspire to be. It certainly addresses traffic, but it will do so much more. … Project Connect will connect our entire city, creating new opportunity for Austinites, reducing our dependence on expensive personal vehicles, and save lives." </p><p><strong>On police funding</strong> </p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"I want to address police department leadership. … We need not only an openness to consider change but a keen desire to move past the status quo and to look at public safety more broadly than [ever,] mainly focusing on ensuring we're best equipped to deal with unsafe moments when they occur. We need more than just a willingness to accept change <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-city-council-police-policy" target="_blank">if it happens</a>; we need a champion for change at its best."</p><p><span></span>Want to read the whole speech? Here's the transcript. </p><p class="pdf-loader"><a class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="bdab21c224a6f214f9ee5a4066743481" href="https://roar-assets-auto.rbl.ms/documents/6988/SOTC 2020 FINAL.pdf">SOTC 2020 FINAL.pdf</a></p><p>Make it a game! Adler invited residents to use this bingo card to mark off every topic mentioned in the speech. Can you get to bingo? Share it on social media with #ATXSOTC.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6b0e4c3e305d794e5a8d90586202a727" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="99d54" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUzNzU2OC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1Njg4NTY1NH0.wzAmDm1N9F0NflybdxcR9O5shzZ_8EsH-H8Dhs40ywM/img.png?width=980"/>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">(City of Austin)</small></p>
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Austin Public Health to expand testing amid plateau, urges vigilance ahead of school start
05 August
(Texas MedClinic)
Austin Public Health testing
Austin Public Health is expanding its free testing service to residents without symptoms due to a drop in demand as cases plateau.
<p>"As a result, we are going to lower the threshold for testing which will allow some asymptomatic testing to occur again," Austin-Travis County Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott said Wednesday. </p><p>APH is also considering <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-rapid-covid-19-test" target="_self">offering rapid antigen testing</a>. Unlike the genetic tests APH already offers, which detect active infections but can take days to return results, antigen tests identify those infections in 15 minutes. </p><p>Some private sites, including Remedy and Total Men's Primary Care locations, already offer rapid antigen testing. Escott said the decline in demand for testing at APH's sites could be because more residents are seeking them out. </p><p>"If we can increase our availability of rapid testing, it allows us to differentiate those positive cases sooner and allows us to do those case investigations sooner," Escott said. "It really would be more effective at the 'boxing-it-in' strategy, particularly as we see case numbers decline."</p><p>APH is working with its testing contractors to see if they have the equipment and capacity necessary to provide rapid testing to city residents. </p><p>APH officials emphasized that while residents are staying vigilant when it comes to masking and socially distancing in public, they must use similar caution at home, such as by avoiding family gatherings, in order to push past the current plateau and avoid any future bounce. </p><p>"We are seeing more cases that are connected to individuals having parties with family and friends," APH Director Stephanie Hayden said. "Please make good decisions so you don't cause an increase in COVID-19 cases."</p><p><strong>What does this mean for schools?</strong></p><p>The decision on when to reopen schools for in-person class is affected by whether Austinites heed this advice, Escott said. Otherwise, schools could face a second round of closures shortly after they welcome students back. </p><p>Area school districts are going mostly or entirely virtual through early September, although the Austin ISD board of trustees is meeting on Thursday to vote on whether to <a href="https://austonia.com/first-day-of-school-austin" target="_self">delay the first official day of school to Sept. 8</a> and, potentially, delay most in-person instruction for up to eight weeks after that.</p><p>"We don't want to be in a situation where we're turning schools on and turning them off in a repetitive cycle for the next six months or a year," Escott said. "Certainly if we are in a <a href="https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Health/Risk-Based-Guidance%20Eng-v14.pdf" target="_blank">Stage 2</a><a href="https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Health/Risk-Based-Guidance%20Eng-v14.pdf" target="_blank"></a> by Sept. 8, it will put us in a much better situation to reopen schools and keep them open."</p><p>Escott said he is concerned about high school and college sports, specifically the University of Texas-Austin, which is expected to host football games with 25% of the stadium's 100,000 person capacity. </p><p>"If we have a football game on Sept. 5 with 25,000 people, then by Sept. 19, we're going to be closing schools again, and kids are going to be learning virtually," Escott said. </p>
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Austin ISD considers delaying first day of school, extending virtual classes
The Austin Independent School Board is considering pushing back the first day of school to Sept. 8 and applying for eight weeks of virtual-only classes, citing "local health conditions" and the fact that COVID-19 disproportionately affects Hispanics, who represent a third of teachers and more than half of the district's students.
<p>The moves will be voted on in a special meeting called for 9 p.m. Thursday night. The meeting, which will be held virtually, will include a <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/tx/austinisd/Board.nsf/Public" target="_blank">public comment portion</a> at 9:35 p.m. The vote will happen after the public comments. </p><p>The meeting agenda cites the following local health conditions:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>High COVID-19 numbers in Travis County (averaging 367 new cases per day in July 2020)</li><li>Current Austin Public Health Risk Guidance places Austin, Travis County in Stage 4</li><li>3-4 people of 1000 are estimated to be infected with a current multiplier of 3</li><li>COVID-19 disproportionately impacts the Hispanic population in the Austin-Travis County area. Some 34 percent of the Austin population is Hispanic, while 57 percent of hospitalizations are among Hispanic patients. Thirty-two percent of AISD staff and 56 percent of students identify as Hispanic, according to agenda documents. </li></ul><p>"This delay will allow for our community to adjust to the latest in-person requirements in the changing health conditions of our city with safety at the forefront of every decision," reads the agenda item on the vote. </p><p>In addition, AISD will limit in-person attendance for the first four weeks of school as already planned but vote Thursday on <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/tx/austinisd/Board.nsf/Public" target="_blank">whether to ask the state for a waiver </a>to allow an additional four weeks, delaying full access to on-campus instruction through early November. </p><p>Students without access to technology will still be allowed in-person instruction, as per state guidelines, but full access by all students would be delayed if the board approves the action and the state allows it. </p><p>"In the event a board extends the initial four-week transition, at least some on campus instruction must be provided each day during the extended transition period," the agenda reads. </p><p>On Monday, Education Austin, the union representing 3,000 AISD employees, <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-public-schools" target="_self">asked the district to consider pushing back the official first day of school,</a> which Gov. Greg Abbott said was within the rights of local districts, not health officials. </p><p>AISD posted <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/tx/austinisd/Board.nsf/files/BS63YY0936A1/%24file/Attachment%203%20SY-2020-21-Attendance-and-Enrollment.pdf" target="_blank">this document</a> with frequently asked questions, updated July 30, about attendance, enrollment, class size and more during the upcoming school year. </p><p><a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/tx/austinisd/Board.nsf/Public" target="_blank">Click here</a> to find out more and learn how to participate in the public comment portion of the meeting. </p>
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Brittany NO FOMO (Hallberg)
Looking for love has always come with obstacles, and they've only been magnified by COVID-19. Nevertheless, many Austinites continue to navigate these uncharted waters. We'll be sharing their stories every week right here.
Brittany Hallberg has no trouble meeting people under normal circumstances. Before the pandemic hit, the New Jersey-born Austinite was a marketer, event coordinator, music photographer and journalist—the latter two under the moniker Brittany NO FOMO—trekking across the country and making music-industry friends along the way.
<p>Hallberg, 30, spent the first several months of 2020 planning SXSW corporate events. She moved into a new apartment, her first without a roommate, the day before Austin officials canceled the festival, effectively halting her career and cutting her off from her community.</p><p>Suddenly, Hallberg faced daunting questions on a personal and professional level. How would she meet new people without a career that facilitated those connections? And how would she present herself to the world without the work that had become a cornerstone of her identity?</p><p>"It's been really weird introducing myself without a career because I'm so tied into my music community and representing myself as Brittany NO FOMO instead of Brittany Hallberg," says Hallberg, whose <a href="https://www.instagram.com/brittanynofomo/" target="_blank">@brittanynofomo Instagram account </a>has amassed more than 13,000 followers. "It's [hard] to try to find my confidence and sexiness when meeting someone new—when I have nothing."</p><p><strong>"He was one of the five people that would actually see me during this time."</strong></p><p>Seeing her social circle—and the opportunities to add to it—shrinking drastically, Hallberg downloaded Hinge, marking her first foray into the world of dating apps. </p><p>"A lot of my close girlfriends here are taking COVID extremely seriously, so I haven't seen them for like five months," she says. "So I was like, 'You know what, if I have to make friends or find company through a dating app, I will.'"</p><p>Hallberg soon connected with Aaron (who requested to have his last name withheld for privacy reasons), and the two shared immediate chemistry. Over the last three months, they've spent a lot of time walking through parks, going to bars that implement good safety measures and hanging out at each other's apartments. </p><p>Hallberg admits she and Aaron have seen each other a lot more than they might have under normal circumstances. It's hard to avoid when the pandemic has wiped out the social calendar. A trip home to New Jersey gave Hallberg some perspective, and reminded her to slow it down. </p><p>"When you have a career and friends to hang out with and gigs and projects, when you date someone, you give them one day a week or maybe two times a week," Hallberg says. "I was putting way too much value and way too much energy into time with him, because he was one of the five people that would actually see me during this time."</p><p>It's hard to know how their relationship will look post-pandemic, so Hallberg and Aaron are enjoying each other's company and keeping things casual during a tough time. </p><p>"It is hard to put your best self forward when you're going through this depression," Hallberg says. "We've kept each other company during a time of increased loneliness, and we always make it clear that we appreciate one another. I think that's all that matters right now."</p>
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(Pexels)
Travis County is reporting a slightly higher COVID-19 case fatality rate than it was in early July, despite a sustained decline in the number of new reported cases and related hospitalizations.
Following weeks of steady decline and a deflating surge, Austin's COVID-19 case fatality rate—defined as reported deaths per confirmed cases—is creeping up.
<p>With 21,214 confirmed cases and 279 reported deaths, Travis County's case fatality rate is now 1.3%, up from 1.1% on July 9.</p><p>Austin-Travis County Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott attributed the increase to the portion of older residents—around 50%—among those recently hospitalized with COVID-19. </p><p>"We know that in people particularly over the age of 60, the risk of death is substantially higher," Escott told the Austin City Council last week. "So I think this tells us … that we can expect that our death numbers are going to increase as these individuals have increased their representation among hospitalized individuals."</p><p>In Travis County, residents 60 years of age and older account for 12% of confirmed COVID-19 cases but 80% of reported deaths, according to Austin Public Health data.</p><p>Austin Public Health officials had also cautioned earlier that the case fatality rate would likely rise right around now as a result of the surge.</p><p>This is because there is a two-to-three-week lag between when new cases are reported and when those patients require hospitalization—or die from the disease. In early- to mid-July, the area saw a spike in both new cases and hospitalizations.</p><p>The county reported 24 deaths the week ending July 11, 35 the week ending July 19, and 38 the last two weeks.</p><p>A similar trend is occurring at the state level, where the case fatality rate jumped from 1.3% in early July to 1.6% today, according to Texas Department of State Health Services data.</p><p><br/></p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><div class="flourish-embed flourish-chart" data-src="visualisation/3329188" data-url="https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/3329188/embed"><script rel="display: none;" src="https://public.flourish.studio/resources/embed.js"></script></div></div><p><strong>Down, then up again</strong></p><p><strong></strong>Until recently, Austin's case fatality rate had been falling. It was 1.1% on July 9, down from 1.8% on June 22 and 3.6% in late April.<br/></p><p>APH attributed this decline <a href="https://austonia.com/Coronavirus/austin-coronavirus-hospitals" target="_self"><u>to better treatments</u></a>—including the antiviral drug remdesivir, convalescent plasma therapy and improved ventilator management—as well as a rising number of cases among young people, who are less likely to require hospitalization or die due to COVID-19.</p><p>Travis County has reported a steady decline in the number of daily new confirmed COVID cases and hospital admissions since around mid-July.</p><p>The seven-day moving average of daily new COVID-related hospital admissions is now 36, down from a peak of more than 75 on July 8. And the average of daily new confirmed COVID cases is 248, compared to almost 600 last month. ICU occupancy rates and ventilator use <a href="https://austonia.com/Coronavirus/austin-covid-statistics" target="_self"><u>remain concerning for officials</u></a>. Both metrics show more of a plateau than a decline.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="931904f3283152cdec5c1dc30ed59de4" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="95838" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUzMDY4Mi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMTE1MTc1MH0.cW25vkbwCYZlOoDNwGaRwPg1QXgq1gs5fRma3cKk79Y/img.png?width=980"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">The Austin metro has seen a sustained decline in COVID-related hospital admissions since early July.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">(Austin Public Health)</small></p>
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The mountain of COVID-19 data released every day in Austin is easier to understand with visual aids.
Once a week, Austonia is taking a look at the previous seven days of COVID-19 statistics, all with the very helpful graphics of Austin resident and Reddit user Rational Anarchy, who has been producing daily visuals and posting them in the forum.
<p>
<br/><em>(Updated July 31. </em><em>All graphics: </em><a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/RationalAnarchy" target="_blank"><em>Rational Anarchy/Reddit</em></a><em>) </em><br/></p>
Travis County’s daily confirmed new COVID-19 cases decline, steadily
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUyNTA3My9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTU5ODgxMzgwOH0.RnSuWnum70bA_aYEa1tpj2FVOiW0pFdN3eK2sCzLtw0/img.png?width=980" id="5f3ef" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c9246966ea132c644cc607387e8b4684" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /><p>Local officials reported steady declines in the number of new COVID-19 cases and average daily hospital admissions this week, after both trend lines plateaued last week.</p> <p>"We're proud of the progress that we've made, and I think this is a result of a community that has been engaged together to really get a lid back on this," Austin-Travis County Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott told City Council earlier this week. </p> <p>While the seven-day moving average of new daily confirmed cases has dropped significantly—to 218 as of Thursday evening from a high of more than 550—it remains significantly higher than it had been until early June. </p>But Travis County’s reported COVID-19 deaths continue to rise
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUyNTA3Ni9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTU5NzM0MzU4NH0.fH_0_arTQKvAm2R_wQOJKa8ixXCgCM7gLwvzaMydXZM/img.png?width=980" id="188b2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5f3b7d77bea3d7565fe36bcc00acd00b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /><p>Death data does not yet show a plateau, however. </p> <p>As of Thursday evening, Travis County reported 266 deaths, up from 229 a week ago. The 14-day moving average is now nearly six deaths per day, up from less than two a month ago. A week ago, the 14-day moving average of daily deaths was five. </p> <p>The county's case fatality rate is also slightly higher than it was earlier this month: 1.3% as of Thursday evening, compared to 1.1% on July 9. </p> <p>Dr. Escott attributed the increase to the fact that most of the patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the last week or so have been over 60—and at much higher risk of death. </p>While COVID-19 hospitalizations in the Austin metro are declining
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUyNTA5MS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzOTY3ODMwM30.3T8AmEMrRj6IN4CNv-U2LBbraj9BF7f-mwMssKtI1L0/img.png?width=980" id="f79d0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="bc134666e6070acef87f2d45871bd24c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /><p>The total number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 is also declining. As of Thursday evening, 388 people were hospitalized with the virus in the metro area, compared to 438 a week ago.</p>But ICU occupancy and ventilator use have only plateaued
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUyNTEwMS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MzcwMTMxM30.n_Ix69hbiu0iE4qamlhwBg_XSZKUDmM7j-kcN6wcvVo/img.png?width=980" id="80824" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7f22a8558d9bf0abe5ec5f3d403b46fc" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /><p>While overall hospitalizations have declined, ICU occupancy has plateaued—<a href="https://austonia.com/survey-says-ut-has-most-reported-covid-19-cases-of-all-us-colleges" target="_self">and remains a concern</a>. Austin's three hospital systems—Ascension Seton, Baylor Scott & White Health and St. David's HealthCare—reported an ICU occupancy rate of 83%, the same as the week prior. </p> <p>"The ICUs are still stressed," Dr. Escott told county commissioners this week. "The personnel are stressed."</p> <p>Ventilator use is showing a similar trend, despite the positive developments in other datasets, with 97 patients still requiring them. </p> <p>Combined with the high proportion of hospitalized patients who are over 60 years of age, the ICU occupancy rate and ventilator usage suggest more fatalities to come.</p> <p>"So I think this tells us … that we can expect that our death numbers are going to increase as these individuals have increased their representation among hospitalized individuals," Dr. Escott told council members.</p>Austin’s COVID-19 cases are most concentrated on the East Side
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUyNTEwNC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwNTc0MTI2NX0.VnHOqEmZZ6hUrDyf673xoEcRVPL3YwE416QPdCeDuAs/img.png?width=980" id="93536" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5a86f4665377ff9f062a263d4fff91a4" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /><p>New COVID-19 cases in Austin remain most densely concentrated on the city's East Side—and specifically in the ZIP codes 78660, 78753 and 78744.</p><p>Austin Public Health has opened testing sites in these areas to serve those most in need and has also targeted outreach to the city's Latino and Black populations, who are at the highest risk of being hospitalized with and dying from COVID-19. </p>Austin’s older residents remain most at risk of dying from COVID-19
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUyNTEwNi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNzY5NTQzOH0.B4UEYTgFXRBfLveB9nOyf4Gmu-SW8Bv8SJKo1cPdQqM/img.png?width=980" id="f4c48" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="fc1ff630e70418ae8769be0cccec6818" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /><p>While young people aged 20-39 make up nearly half of the total confirmed COVID-19 cases, they are much more likely to avoid hospitalization and recover.</p> <p>In sharp contrast, people 60 years and older make up only 12% of confirmed COVID-19 cases but account for 83% of reported deaths, according to Austin Public Health. </p><h5>Want to read more stories like this one? Start every day with a quick look at what's happening in Austin. Sign up for Austonia.com's free daily morning email.</h5>
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(Austin Public Health)
The moving average of daily new COVID-related hospitalizations is now 39.9, just under the threshold for a Stage 3 risk designation. But Austin Public Health will not lower it until other indicators, such as ICU capacity, improve.
Although the daily average of new COVID-related hospitalizations dropped today below the threshold for a Stage 3 risk designation, the city will remain in Stage 4.
<p>"We've seen over and over again that when we rush to open things, if we don't have the appropriate protections in place, it leads to cases surging and shutting the City down again," Austin-Travis County Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott said in a statement issued Thursday, "and we do not want to be in that situation moving into the fall."</p><p>The seven-day moving average of daily new hospital admissions is currently 39.9, just under the upper limit of 40 for a Stage 3 designation.</p><p>While the hospital admissions rate is the key indicator used to determine the risk level, it is not the only one. APH also monitors other trends, such as the average number of daily new confirmed cases, ICU capacity and the doubling time—or how long it would take for the current caseload to double. </p><p>APH will consider a drop down to Stage 3—and the recommended increases in reopenings and social gatherings that come with it—only when ICU capacity improves and the rates of new daily confirmed cases and hospital admissions decline further. </p><p>For now, ICU capacity is "still very limited," according to the statement.</p><p>Austin's three hospital systems—Ascension Seton, Baylor Scott & White Health and St. David's HealthCare—reported an ICU occupancy rate of 83% on Tuesday, down from <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-icu-capacity-covid" target="_self"><u>a high of 89% in mid-July</u></a>.</p>
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