Since March, Cox has been regularly updating the community on the pandemic through weekly Facebook broadcasts. For the second consecutive week, Cox said the Travis County area has experienced a decrease in hospitalizations.
There are 129 hospitalizations in the metropolitan statistical area of Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop and Caldwell counties, 29 of whom are on ventilators. The area’s intensive care units are holding 29 individuals, according to Austin Public Health officials.
“We are seeing a good and dramatic drop in the caseload,” Cox said, noting that local health officials do not report hospitalization data or active cases per ZIP code.
However, Cox estimates there are about 50 active coronavirus cases within the Lake Travis region. The area has also seen a decrease in new cases since July when Cox reported a spike in cases.
In light of the upcoming Labor Day holiday, Cox stressed the importance of necessary safety precautions such as social distancing and the use of masks. Lakeway and surrounding communities experienced an increase in cases following July 4 festivities, Cox said.
The Lake Travis ISD community is also anticipating reopening campuses for a limited capacity of students by Sept. 8. District officials voted Aug. 31 to implement a plan to phase students back to in-person learning.
“What we want is school to continue, and we want to be able to offer in-person learning,” Cox said. “We can’t afford spikes from the three-day weekend.”
