Austin-Travis County area breaks record again for 7-day hospitalizations

The seven-day moving average of new hospitalizations reached 121 on Jan. 18, breaking the previous high of 120 set on Jan. 15, according to an Austin Public Health dashboard.

That means since Jan. 9, eight out of the last 10 days have broken the previous record for the seven-day moving average of new hospitalizations.

“We’re very concerned by the trends of all our key indicators. We urge everyone to wear well-fitted masks, get vaccinated, get boosted and get tested to stop the spread of COVID-19 in our community,” an APH spokesperson said in an email.

The Travis County positivity also sits well within the Stage 5 risk-based guidelines threshold at 32.8% and the community transmission rate, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's metric for community transmission, sits at 1,830.

While metrics for ventilator use and intensive care unit admissions have risen sharply, they have not eclipsed the previous records set in August. The previous seven-day moving average high for new ICU admissions was 231 on Aug. 27, compared to 134 as of Jan. 18. The previous seven-day moving average high for ventilator use was 165 on Aug. 30, compared to 69 as of Jan. 18.

The Austin-Travis County area remains in Stage 5, which encourages the vaccinated population to wear masks during all activities and the unvaccinated and partially vaccinated to avoid gatherings outside of their household.