AUSTIN, Texas — Based on a KVUE analysis of data from the Texas Department of State Health Services, less than 1% of people who live in Travis County have been tested for the coronavirus.
Only .66% of the nearly 1.3 million people who live in the county have been tested, according to TDSHS data as of April 17.
The low testing rates were similar in Texas’ other highly populated counties, Bexar, Dallas and Harris, where testing was performed on less than 1% of the people who live in each county.
Data from county health officials across Texas also show an increasing number of cases in the state’s most populous counties. In Travis County, there were 690 cases last Friday April 10, increasing to 1,074 cases by April 17, an increase of 56% in one week. Bexar County went from 772 cases to 959, a 24% increase since April 10. Harris County officials report a 23% increase, and Dallas County had a 43% increase during the same seven-day period.
Three of the most populated counties near Austin also showed increases in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases during the one-week period from April 10 to April 17. Bastrop County cases increased from 23 to 44, a 65% gain, Hays County from 58 to 67 cases, a 17% increase, and Williamson County from 110 to 146 cases, a 33% increase.
The number of confirmed cases in less-populous counties across Central Texas, including Gillespie, Blanco, Lee, Llano, Burnet and Mason counties, has held steady over the past seven days, averaging from one to six cases per county.
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