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A key indicator Austin Public Health is using to assess the threat to the community from the coronavirus hit its lowest level in more than a month on Tuesday.
Only 50 new daily hospital admissions were reported, lowering the seven-day moving average Austin Public Health uses to determine how the most medically vulnerable can protect themselves from the coronavirus. The new average, 59, was not only lower than Friday’s average of 66, but also the lowest since August 1, when the average was 58.
More:Average Travis County’s COVID-19 hospital admissions are improving, with the key indicator showing a steady decline
Austin Public Health is currently in level 5 of the agency’s risk-based guidelines, which is the most critical level and is triggered when the rolling weekly average of new daily hospital admissions reaches 50 or more. The guidelines range from Level 1 to Level 5, with five representing the highest level of threat to the spread of the coronavirus in the community.
Health officials also reported a total of 540 people in hospitals in the Austin area on Tuesday for COVID-19, a significant improvement over the 584 inpatients on Friday – and the pandemic record high of 653 patients set two weeks ago on 8. 25
The last time the number of inpatients for COVID-19 in the Austin area was this low was on August 8, when 539 people were hospitalized.
Dr. Austin-Travis County’s health department Desmar Walkes continued to urge residents to get vaccinated and wear masks in public in hopes that these efforts will continue to help reduce hospital stays.
“Fortunately, we are seeing improvements in our hospital systems, with admissions going down over the past week,” said Walkes. “While this looks promising, we still cannot afford to relax and become complacent about our safety.”
Walkes’ good news about the improving status of local hospital admissions also came with warnings of congested intensive care units.
In the trauma service region of the state with 11 counties, which also includes central Texas, there were no occupied intensive care beds available for adults on Sunday. This marked the first time the Austin area had run out of beds since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Only two beds were available on Tuesday.
The trauma service region also had six pediatric ICU beds available on Tuesday, but the region did not have open pediatric ICU beds on Saturday.
“We already know beforehand that the system in the intensive care unit was extremely stressed with a very limited number of beds and staff,” said Walkes. “This is a grave situation that affects not only COVID-19 treatment but any critical care that is needed by patients in our community.”
It was not the first time that the region ran out of beds in the pediatric intensive care unit on Saturday. In addition, for three days in August and one day in July 2020, the Texas Department of Health and Human Services reported no available manned pediatric intensive care beds in the trauma region of Austin.
More:Intensive care beds are running out in central Texas for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began
Austin Public Health executives said Tuesday there were 203 patients in local intensive care units in Travis County, up from 218 on Friday. The county reported 147 people using ventilators, up from 154 on Sunday.
Effects of the working day on the pandemic
When Americans returned to work on Tuesday after the Labor Day holidays, the nation reached a new threshold, recording a total of 40 million COVID-19 infections since the pandemic began.
Data from Johns Hopkins University shows the nation reported about 12 cases per 100 residents, according to a report by USA TODAY on Tuesday.
The milestone comes as the delta variant of the coronavirus continues to spread and concerns about potential spikes mount after the long Labor Day weekend, the USA TODAY report said. An estimated 42.5 million Americans went on vacation to mark the end of summer, according to Arrivalist, a company that tracks travel dates.
More:Biden Unveils New Strategy To Stop Virus From Spreading; Fauci Says Football Stadium Packing Isn’t ‘Smart’: COVID-19 Updates
Walkes said Tuesday she and her team plan to monitor the data in the days following Labor Day, but added that anyone attending a large gathering or going on vacation on the weekend should be aware of coronavirus symptoms .
“If you have symptoms or have been around someone who has symptoms, get tested right away,” Walkes said. “If your results are positive, quarantine yourself from others to reduce the chance of COVID-19 spreading to others around you.”
Those who have symptoms are encouraged to contact their local provider to see if they are eligible for monoclonal antibody therapy at the regional infusion center, which Walkes says can help reduce the likelihood of a person with severe symptoms that require hospitalization.
Data from the Texas Department of State Health Service Tuesday showed that 78.98% of Travis County’s residents who are 12 and older received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. Of these, 68.04% are fully vaccinated.
Austin Public Health is still trying to achieve its goal of having at least 70% of the Austin area’s qualified residents be fully vaccinated.
More:Travis County COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker: 61% of people fully vaccinated
State reporter Nicole Villalpando and USA TODAY contributed to this report.
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