AUSTIN, Texas — Editor's note: This blog is no longer being updated. Click here for Tuesday's blog.
KVUE is keeping you updated with the latest coronavirus and COVID-19 news in the Austin area.
Scroll down for the top headlines and latest updates in KVUE's daily live blog.
COVID-19 numbers:
- Texas:
- More than 5.4 million cases have been reported in the state, and more than 83,500 people in Texas have died, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
- Central Texas counties:
- Austin-Travis County: The seven-day moving average for new hospital admissions is 20, and an average of 199 people are hospitalized. The community transmission rate is 63.3 cases per 100,000 (substantial) and the positivity rate is 7.5%. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 199,845 cases have been reported and at least 1,350 people have died.
- Hays County: There are currently 1,974 active cases, and seven people are currently hospitalized. Since the beginning of the pandemic, at least 52,650 confirmed cases have been reported and at least 483 people have died.
- Williamson County: There are 17 new cases of coronavirus in Williamson County. Eleven percent of hospital beds are available, and 7% of ICU beds are available. Since the beginning of the pandemic, at least 109,537 cases have been reported and at least 854 people have died.
For a look at COVID-19 data across all of the state's counties, click here.
GRAPHS: Coronavirus data for Feb. 28, 2022
Updates:
5 p.m. – Texas reported 2,227 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Monday, bringing the seven-day average to 3,055 cases per day – down 44% from a week ago and down 91% from a month ago. The state reported 33 new COVID-19 deaths on Monday, bringing the total to 83,549 since the start of the pandemic. There are 3,684 COVID-19 patients currently in Texas hospitals statewide – down 28% from a week ago and down 71% from a month ago. The state's positivity rate average is 4.97%.
The four-county Austin metro area reported 168 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Monday – down 45% from a week ago and down 93% from a month ago. Hospital admissions for COVID-19 in the Austin area are at an average of 19.9 per day over the past week. There are currently 213 COVID-19 patients in Austin-area (TSA O) hospitals with an 11.5% bed availability. There are 69 COVID-19 patients in Austin-area ICUs with a 12% bed availability (53 adult, seven pediatric).
4:50 p.m. – Hays County reported four more COVID-19 deaths on Monday – an Austin man in his 60s, a Buda woman in her 90s, a Kyle man in his 60s and a San Marcos woman in her 70s. Health officials also reported 150 new confirmed cases along with three new hospital discharges. There are 444 additional people considered recovered.
3:40 p.m. – Travis County reported 956 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Monday and no new deaths, bringing the total to 199,845 cases and 1,350 deaths since the start of the pandemic. At least 197,491 people have recovered from the virus.
Travis County currently has 166 people hospitalized with COVID-19, with 54 in the ICU and 27 on ventilators.
3:35 p.m. – Skillpoint Alliance, a local nonprofit that offers free workforce development classes in the skilled trades, will partner with Austin Public Health to host a vaccine clinic that focuses on vaccinating at-risk members of the population, like skilled workers in the plumbing, HVAC and electrical fields. The clinic will take place on Tuesday, March 1 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Members of the APH mobile team will administer first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as COVID-19 boosters. APH will offer Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
The event will take place at the Skillpoint Alliance campus located at 8868 Research Blvd. Suite 505.
OTHER COVID-19 HEADLINES:
- Nearly half of Biden's 500M free COVID tests still unclaimed
- Doctors are cautiously optimistic as Austin-Travis County returns to Stage 4 of COVID-19 guidelines
- CDC eases mask guidelines for more than 70% of Americans
- Austin Public Health announces new vaccine outreach program
- Yes, the CDC says people in many areas of the U.S. can go without masks in updated guidance