Wes Wilson and KXAN Staff
5 hours ago
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin has confirmed its first two cases of the coronavirus disease. Austin Public Health said early Friday morning it received two presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 in Travis County. These are the first two confirmed cases in this area.
“Austin and Travis County has joined a seemingly growing number of cities and counties that have positive cases in their area,” Austin Public Health interim health authority Dr. Mark Escott said.
“Austin Public Health has received two presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 overnight in our jurisdiction. These represent the first two cases in our area,” he said.
A man in his 60s is hospitalized, and a woman in her 30s is quarantined at her home, Dr. Escott said. Both tested positive for COVID-19.
“Our epidemiologists are working around the clock to track these individuals, their contacts, even before they got sick,” Dr. Escott said. “We’re testing people every day.”
Neither case is believed to be community spread, which means the illness did NOT come from an unknown infected person with whom they had come into contact.
“At this stage, these do not represent community spread of the disease which means they are epidemiogicially linked to another case or to another jurisdiction,” Dr. Escott said.
Escott said the two cases aren’t related. One of the cases is linked to a case in Montgomery County near Houston, and the other case came from the person being transferred to the Austin area from a rural region of the state.
“We have no evidence that the person was ever outside of a hospital in Austin or Travis County,” Escott said.
He continued to explain that patients are routinely transferred from rural regions to the Austin area because the hospitals are more equipped for advanced-level care.
“So individuals particularly from rural communities are often transferred to major cities because we have the tertiary care, we have the expertise,” Escott said. “We have a world-class healthcare system which means as this issues grows across the state, we can expect people from rural communities to be sent to major metropolitan areas to provide that expert level of care.”
A presumptive positive case means a local test has come back positive but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not confirmed the results with its own test.
Austin Public Health says these first two confirmed cases has elevated the city’s response to Phase 3 of a five-phase plan, adapted from its pandemic flu plans:
The Austin-Travis County Emergency Operations Center remains activated.
APH says it will work to educate the city’s elderly population and those with preexisting medical conditions. The average age of people who have died from the coronavirus disease in the United States is 78 years old.
Escott urged the public to be vigilant with hand washing, and when soap isn’t available, to use hand sanitizer. If you feel sick, stay home.
“The virus isn’t going to jump up and grab you,” he said. “If you’re sick, you need to stay home.”
Austin Public Health interim authority Dr. Mark Escott. (KXAN photo/Todd Bailey)“The City of Austin and Travis County will be evaluating additional protections for the community based on these positive cases,” the city said in a news release. “At this time, we have not made any additional changes to current regulations around mass gatherings or other public health standards but will keep the public updated if this information changes.”
APH said it will continue to coordinate with local, state and federal public health and health care partners.
They also urged everyone in this area to continue to practice proper hygiene:
Mayor Steve Adler
Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt
Austin Public Health interim authority Dr. Mark Escott
APH chief epidemiologist Janet Pichette