Jan. 4, 2022
Texas: Health officials on Tuesday recorded 7,460 people in the hospital for COVID-19 statewide, the most since early October.
The summer surge peaked at 13,932 patients on Aug. 26, 20. The pandemic high was in January, when 14,218 Texans were hospitalized.
The Texas Department of State Health Services reported 475 available staffed ICU beds for adult patients, up from the pandemic low of 270 on Sept. 9, 2021. Although the state only had 113 staffed pediatric ICU beds, that is still more than the pandemic low of 64 beds reported on Aug. 4, 2021.
DSHS’ 11-county Central Texas trauma service region that includes the Austin metro area has been seeing a shortage in available staffed ICU beds, with 36 adult beds and 10 pediatric beds available. The region hit a pandemic low of zero adult ICU beds on Sept. 5, and zero pediatric ICU beds on Sept. 4, 2021.
Statewide, the Texas Department of State Health Services reported:
• 44,431 new COVID-19 cases.
• 60 new deaths.
• On Nov. 4, state officials began including children ages 5 to 11 in their vaccination reports. As of Tuesday, 72.05% of Texans 5 and older have received at least one dose of vaccine. About 61.25% of Texans 5 and older are fully vaccinated.
Travis County: Based on coronavirus data and hospital trends for COVID-19 released Tuesday, health officials kept the community threat level at Stage 4 of Austin Public Health’s risk-based guidelines.
But the rolling seven-day average of new daily hospital admissions, which helps Austin Public Health determine guidelines for the most medically vulnerable members of the community, was 71 — an increase from 66 the previous day.
The county’s highest average for new daily hospital admissions during the summer surge was 84 on Aug. 11, when the community was in Stage 5, the highest threat level.
The average stayed below 50 for several days near the end of September so Austin Public Health on Sept. 28 moved the region to Stage 4 of its pandemic guidelines, indicating less danger of community spread.
The average then needed to stay below 30 for an extended period before Austin Public Health considered downgrading the threat level to Stage 3 of its guidelines. Health officials made the shift to Stage 3 on Oct. 12.
The Austin area remained in Stage 3 for only two months before returning to Stage 4 on Dec. 29. Austin Public Health leaders had begun using another key indicator to better determine the risk-based guidelines: the community transmission rate.
Dr. Desmar Walkes, Austin-Travis County health authority, has said that the transmission rate appeared to be more accurate in determining the threat level than the daily hospital average when it came to the delta variant.
The community transmission rate, which tracks new cases per 100,000 people over seven days, was 452 on Tuesday.
Austin Public Health was tracking 354 people in the hospital with COVID-19, compared to the pandemic record high of 653 patients tallied on Aug. 25.
Only 61 people were in Austin-area ICUs for COVID-19. That number hit a pandemic record high of 237 on Aug. 22. The 25 patients on ventilators remained a significant improvement over the pandemic record high of 174 set on Aug. 29.
Austin Public Health and Travis County health officials reported:
• 4,752 active COVID-19 cases.
• 1,220 total deaths from COVID-19 over the course of the pandemic.
• 1,149 new cases
• The positivity rate for COVID-19 tests is 18.3%.
According to state data, Travis County vaccination rates continue to improve. As of Tuesday, 81.03% of Travis County residents 5 and older have received at least one dose of vaccine. About 70.11% of county residents 5 and older are fully vaccinated.
Jan. 3, 2022
Texas: Health officials on Monday recorded 7,015 people in the hospital for COVID-19 statewide, the most since Oct. 7, when the total was 7,117.
The summer surge peaked at 13,932 patients on Aug. 26. The pandemic high was in January, when 14,218 Texans were hospitalized.
The Texas Department of State Health Services reported 492 available staffed ICU beds for adult patients, up from the pandemic low of 270 on Sept. 9. Although the state only had 104 staffed pediatric ICU beds, that is still more than the pandemic low of 64 beds reported on Aug. 4.
DSHS’ 11-county Central Texas trauma service region that includes the Austin metro area has been seeing a shortage in available staffed ICU beds, with 47 adult beds and 10 pediatric beds available. The region hit a pandemic low of zero adult ICU beds on Sept. 5, and zero pediatric ICU beds on Sept. 4.
Statewide, the Texas Department of State Health Services reported:
• 51,481 new COVID-19 cases.
• 78 new deaths.
• On Nov. 4, state officials began including children ages 5 to 11 in their vaccination reports. As of Monday, 71.97% of Texans 5 and older have received at least one dose of vaccine. About 61.2% of Texans 5 and older are fully vaccinated.
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Travis County: Based on coronavirus data and hospital trends for COVID-19 released Monday, health officials kept the community threat level at Stage 4 of Austin Public Health’s risk-based guidelines.
But the rolling seven-day average of new daily hospital admissions, which helps Austin Public Health determine guidelines for the most medically vulnerable members of the community, was 66 — an increase from 45 just days before the new year began.
The county’s highest average for new daily hospital admissions during the summer surge was 84 on Aug. 11, when the community was in Stage 5, the highest threat level.
The average stayed below 50 for several days near the end of September so Austin Public Health on Sept. 28 moved the region to Stage 4 of its pandemic guidelines, indicating less danger of community spread.
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The average then needed to stay below 30 for an extended period before Austin Public Health considered downgrading the threat level to Stage 3 of its guidelines. Health officials made the shift to Stage 3 on Oct. 12.
The Austin area remained in Stage 3 for only two months before returning to Stage 4 on Dec. 29. Austin Public Health leaders had begun using another key indicator to better determine the risk-based guidelines: the community transmission rate.
Dr. Desmar Walkes, Austin-Travis County health authority, has said that the transmission rate appeared to be more accurate in determining the threat level than the daily hospital average when it came to the delta variant.
The community transmission rate, which tracks new cases per 100,000 people over seven days, was 434.6 on Monday.
Austin Public Health was tracking 314 people in the hospital with COVID-19, compared to the pandemic record high of 653 patients tallied on Aug. 25.
US COVID-19 map: Tracking cases and deaths
Only 65 people were in Austin-area ICUs for COVID-19. That number hit a pandemic record high of 237 on Aug. 22. The 24 patients on ventilators remained a significant improvement over the pandemic record high of 174 set on Aug. 29.
Austin Public Health and Travis County health officials reported:
• 4,293 active COVID-19 cases.
• 1,218 total deaths from COVID-19 over the course of the pandemic.
• 1,045 new cases
• The positivity rate for COVID-19 tests is 18.3%.
According to state data, Travis County vaccination rates continue to improve. As of Monday, 80.97% of Travis County residents 5 and older have received at least one dose of vaccine. About 70.07% of county residents 5 and older are fully vaccinated.