City of Austin

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Release Date:

Austin, Texas – Hospitalization data will be updated today, Feb. 20 on the Austin Public Health (APH) public dashboards for the first time since Feb. 12.  

Case data will not be updated on the dashboards until data entry resumes. Data entry staff could not safely travel to the location to provide data input this week causing a delay in getting the data entered. The data entry location was also out of power. 

The Key Indicators Dashboard, which includes the data used to determine the staging for the APH Risk-Based Guidelines, will display a 7-day moving average of new hospital admissions. A 7-day moving average of 30 is part of a transition for Stage 3. However, APH will not immediately move stages with the lack of testing and delay in case data reporting over the past week due to the inclement weather. 

While APH monitors the 7-day moving average of COVID-19 new hospital admissions as the primary key indicator for the Risk-Based Guidelines, additional key indicators, including positivity rate, the doubling time of new cases and current ICU and ventilator patients, are monitored to determine the current staging.

APH will continue to monitor the data over the coming week and will publicly announce any stage changes. At this time, Austin-Travis County remains in Stage 4, which includes the following recommendations: 

  • Higher-risk individuals (those over the age of 65 and those who have chronic medical conditions) should stay home, except for essential trips such as buying groceries or seeking medical care.  
  • Lower-risk individuals should avoid social gatherings, any gatherings greater than 10 people, and non-essential travel.   
  • Businesses and restaurants voluntarily operate at a reduced capacity of 25-50%.   
  • Schools voluntarily limit attendance at sporting events to players, coaches, and parents. 

For additional COVID-19 information and updates, visit www.AustinTexas.gov/COVID19.  

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