Travis County reported a new coronavirus death May 28, the 92nd death from the virus since mid-March. There have also been 1,114 recoveries in that time and 3,124 total confirmed cases.
Active hospitalizations in the metropolitan area dropped from 97 to 88 over the past 24 hours, the lowest level since May 24.
Earlier in the day May 28, a Travis County health official announced Austin Public Health will be updating its coronavirus dashboard either this weekend or early next week to display additional information. Changes will include showing the seven-day daily average of new hospitalizations overtime, as well as showing the estimated number of active cases in the county, which is calculated by taking cumulative cases and subtracting coronavirus deaths and recoveries.
Dr. Mark Escott, the Austin-Travis County interim health authority, said May 28 tracking new hospital admissions per day is a key measure the county is using to determine if it should be more or less restrictive in its guidance to residents and businesses. Because hospitals have a fixed capacity, the data about new admissions is a better indicator of when communities are feeling stress as it relates to COVID-19, he said.
