Austin, Texas – Austin Public Health (APH) has received information from our hospital partners that there was a reporting error in COVID-19 hospital census and admissions. The error will be corrected in the COVID-19 dashboards when they are updated today, Oct. 22.

The error caused inaccurate COVID-19 hospital census and admissions reporting between Oct. 9 and 20. The hospital's reporting process has been fixed. The data error was proactively identified and reported to APH.

“This information is being shared to ensure full transparency and clarity with the community on the hospital data,” said Dr. Mark Escott, Interim Austin-Travis County Health Authority. “Likewise, the adjustment in the data to reflect the true hospital numbers will help provide the community with a more accurate reflection of the virus spread in the city and county. This data adjustment does not change the overall troubling trend of increased admissions, and our community still needs to continue protective measures to keep themselves and our community safe.”

The backlogged cases are being added today to the historical dates of hospital census and admissions, which will result in adjusted hospital numbers on the Austin-Travis County COVID-19 dashboards between Oct. 9 and 20 as well as Oct. 21. The data corrections will affect the seven-day moving average of new hospital admissions and total hospitalizations.

The Austin-Travis County COVID-19 dashboards can be viewed at austintexas.gov/page/covid-19-dashboards.

The updated numbers will be provided to the UT Modeling Consortium to assist in giving APH a more accurate indicator of the spread of COVID-19 in Austin-Travis County.

For more information about COVID-19, visit austintexas.gov/COVID19.