Austin Public Health reports largest increase in number of COVID-19 cases

APH says they had a decrease beforehand, but they're currently working on doing more testing.

AUSTIN, Texas - Austin Public Health says Monday they saw its largest increase in the number of COVID-19 cases at 118. The number jumped to 161 on Tuesday.

APH says they had a decrease beforehand, but they're currently working on doing more testing.

During Austin City Council's briefing via Zoom, they showed a slideshow of coronavirus cases spanning from March to right now. Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott gave a 15-minute presentation on Tuesday to discuss changes in numbers, related to the global pandemic.

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He said, "since the middle of May we've seen a steady increase in the 7-day moving average, the yellow line going from over 40 cases a day to over 60 cases a day."

Dr. Escott says in Travis County since Monday they saw its largest increase in the number of cases at 118. On the Saturday and Sunday before that, he says there was a decrease.

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Dr. Escott says there was also a steady increase in cases since May 22, the Friday of Memorial Day weekend.

Multiple businesses have been affected by COVID-19 and haven't opened up since the pandemic began, while some have opened as Texas's reopening phases began last month.

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport says due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, passenger traffic decreased in April 2020 by 96.6% compared to this time last year.

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Dr. Escott said, "we saw a spike last week with 18 new admissions in one day but has since come down." He says their research shows 50 percent of people are spending five days or less in the hospital, but some are staying much longer, extending the past two months.

Another issue he pointed out was the amount of uninsured COVID-19 patients. "14-15% of our county is uninsured and it indicates not only that hospitalizations are affecting our communities of color but it's also affecting those in poverty. They're substantially overrepresented in the hospital."

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