Coronavirus: Travis County Illness Count Grows To 244

AUSTIN, TX — The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Travis County rose to 244 on Tuesday — up 38 from the 206 cases reported the previous day — in the biggest illness spike since the county began keeping records earlier this month.

The increase was recorded amid reports that 28 young people in their 20s returning from a Spring Break outing in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, tested positive for the respiratory ailment upon their return to the city, according to Austin Public Health.

According to the student-run newspaper The Daily Texan, the afflicted are all University of Texas at Austin students. The newly diagnosed patients were among a group of 70 who chartered a plane to vacation in Mexico, and several others from the gathering are being monitored for the illness.

Related story: Coronavirus: 28 Returning Vacationers Test Positive In Austin

There have been two reported fatalities blamed on the COVID-19 virus in Travis County, as health officials previously revealed. Health officials in neighboring Williamson County have reported one fatality from the virus there.

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A primer on the illness is provided at the Austin Public Health website:

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory illness that is spreading from person to person in parts of the United States. The risk of infection with COVID-19 is higher for people who are close contacts of someone known to have COVID-19, for example healthcare workers, or household members. Other people at higher risk for infection are those who live in or have recently been in an area with an ongoing spread of COVID-19.

The virus spreads mainly between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet) through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. It also may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.

Austin Public Health Response

Austin Public Health is closely monitoring the rapidly evolving situation in coordination with the Texas Department of State Health Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and local and regional public health and healthcare agencies. APH has developed a five-phase plan to coordinate COVID-19 response activities.

• Phase 1: Persons Under Monitoring
• Phase 2: Persons Under Investigation (Testing in Progress)
• Phase 3: Confirmed Case(s) (No Person-to-Person spread)
• Phase 4: Limited Person-to-Person Spread (Close/Household Contacts)
• Phase 5: Sustained Person-to-Person Spread in the Community

From March 30:

AUSTIN, TX — The second death from new coronavirus in Travis County was recorded as the total number of cases rose to 206 on Monday, Austin Public Health officials confirmed.

The total number of confirmed cases is six more than that recorded on Friday, and 27 more than were reported on Saturday. Statewide, there have been 3,094 confirmed cases of the respiratory illness now called COVID-19 with 42 deaths.

The report on the county's second death from the virus comes three days after the first one — involving a woman in her 70s — was reported by health officials.

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As the new numbers were being updated, Austin Public Health officials announced an effort to relocate seniors at a pair of nursing homes — one each in Travis and Williamson counties — to be relocated to temporary sites. The new monitoring sites are designed for older residents who have been diagnosed with the virus but do not require hospitalization or those who have since recovered from illness.

Related stories:

• Coronavirus: Austin Nursing Home Patients To Be Isolated
• Coronavirus: Williamson County Illness Count Grows To 42

The new count in neighboring Williamson County also was updated on Monday, as health officials there posted a number of 42 cases confirmed so far after the emergence of five new cases.