AUSTIN, Texas — Non-essential activity has dropped by 64% in the Austin-Travis County area, Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt and local health officials announced at a press conference at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, April 8.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler said at a 50% reduction, the city would see a dramatic decrease in hospitalizations at the virus' peak.
According to Mayor Adler, if the city reduces activity by 75%, some surge capacity would be needed, but it would be manageable. Additionally, if the city can reach an 82% reduction in essential activity, the current hospital capacity will likely be enough for the peak of the virus, according to University of Texas projections.
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Judge Eckhardt said that while this number is a good sign, she believes the city could still be doing better.
Mayor Adler said if construction site mitigation does not occur, there could be nearly three times as many COVID-19 related hospitalizations.
According to Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott, there are approximately 4,300 hospital beds available for COVID-19 in the Austin-Travis County hospital systems. Dr. Escott said a site has been identified to be a site that could potentially be converted to a COVID-19 healthcare facility if needed.
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Dr. Escott Said there are 554 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Austin-Travis County area, and of those cases, 77 people have been hospitalized and 28 are on ventilators.
Dr. Escott said the city has an additional two types of facilities: Isolation facilities for those who have tested positive and don't want to infect their families and protective lodges to help protect those who are at high risk for COVID-19.
This announcement follows a press conference in which Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced that some Walgreens locations would soon be offering drive-thru testing for COVID-19 that would get results in approximately 15 minutes.
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