LOCAL

Travis County reports 4 more coronavirus deaths, 296 new cases

Hojun Choi
Austin American-Statesman

Austin-Travis County health officials on Tuesday said four more people in the area have died from coronavirus-related causes.

Health officials said 307 people in Travis County have now died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, since the start of the pandemic.

County health officials on Tuesday also reported 296 new cases, bringing the total of lab-confirmed cases in the county to 23,249.

Meanwhile, the total number of estimated recoveries in the county is now at 21,871.

Local health officials on Monday reported that 284 people are in Austin-area hospitals with COVID-19. Of those, 102 are in intensive care and 74 are on ventilators.

Hospitals in the Austin area saw a significant day-to-day increase in coronavirus-related admissions on Tuesday with 46 new admissions. Officials on Monday reported 19 new hospitalizations.

The rolling 7-day average of new hospital admissions is 33.6, a slight increase from Monday’s average of 32.9.

That average, which health officials monitor closely when considering precautionary measures, is now below the city’s threshold for Stage 4 restrictions to slow down the spread of the virus. However, city and county health officials said they will not reduce restrictions to Stage 3 just yet.

State health officials on Monday said the average rate of Texans testing positive for the virus had reached 21%.

Data released Tuesday included a breakdown of the Travis County cases by race and ethnicity.

Of those who tested positive for the coronavirus, 52% are Hispanic, according to recent Austin data. Travis County health officials have said that concerns remain about the disproportionate effect the virus is having on the Hispanic community as well as people living in nursing homes.

Non-Hispanic whites account for about 31% of cases, 8% are Black and 3% are Asian.

In some cases, the race or ethnicity of Travis County residents with the coronavirus is listed as “unknown” or “other.”

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