Austin Coronavirus Cases Grow To 460, With 6 Deaths

AUSTIN, TX — The number of new coronavirus cases in Travis County has grown to 460 with two more deaths reported, Austin Public Health officials disclosed on Saturday.

The illness count grew by 30 from the previous day's count, as posted on a dashboard recently created by Austin Public Health. The number of fatalities grew by two on Saturday, adding to the four deaths that had been reported as of Friday.

On their dashboard, Health officials described the respiratory illness that is caused by the COVID-19 virus:

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.

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The virus spreads mainly between people who are in close contact with one another (within about six 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.

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Austin Public Health officials also provided some useful links:

• Individuals urged to monitor health
• Information for businesses and industries
  
• New orders to align COVID-19 restrictions statewide
  
• Information for those who are sick

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 and local and regional public health and health care agencies, officials wrote. To that aim, Austin Public Health 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