Austin Public Health shifts to Stage 4 of COVID-19 risk-based guidelines as omicron variant surges

"COVID-19 hospitalizations and the community transmission rate are surging once again. This means our ICUs are filling and that emergency care could become compromised for both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients. We must act now to protect both,” Austin Mayor Steve Adler said in the news release.

The Austin-Travis County community transmission rate is 405. The CTR considers both the number of cases per 100,000 people confirmed in a seven-day period and the percentage of positive tests in a county in that period.

“The omicron variant is moving fast through our community, and we must do what is necessary to help slow community transmission,” Travis County Judge Andy Brown said in the news release.

Testing

APH administered 1,344 COVID-19 tests at its Expo Center location Dec. 28. For those looking to get tested, an APH spokesperson said preregistration is key.

“Wait times are drastically reduced if folks have already created an account,” she added.

Travis County ran out of free at-home test kits Dec. 22. The county is still awaiting resupply and does not have a time estimate for when it will receive more, Travis County public information officer Hector Nieto said.

State and national trends

Austin’s regional infusion center ran out of the monoclonal antibody sotrovimab, the Texas Department of State Health Services announced in a Dec. 27 tweet. It added that the lack of supply is due to a national shortage.

“Sotrovimab, is the monoclonal antibody most effective against reducing the risk of severe disease from the COVID-19 omicron variant,” the tweet stated.

Cases nationwide have also continued to surge. According to a New York Times database, the United States broke a record seven-day average in new reported cases Dec. 28, reaching 267,305. The previous high came Jan. 11 at 251,232 new cases.