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OH, I HOPE I DON'T GET TOO NERVOUS.
[Austin COVID-19: Media Q & A]
GOOD MORNING.I'M MELISSA ARMSTRONG AND I WILL BE THE MODERATOR FOR THIS MORNING'S NEWS CONFERENCE.
FIRST I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE OUR SPEAKERS, STEPHANIE HAYDEN, DIRECTOR OF BOSTON PUBLIC HEALTH, JANET HACHETTE, CHIEF EPIDEMIOLOGIST AND DR. MARK SCOTT.
INTERIM AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY HEALTH AUTHORITY.
BEFORE WE JUMP INTO THE Q AND A PORTION, I WILL ASK IF ANY OF OUR APH REPRESENTATIVES HAVE ANY UPDATES.
I'M STEPHANIE HAYDEN, DIRECTOR AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE TODAY.
UM, THE, THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY, UM, HAVE COMPLETED OUR TESTING FOR, UM, WE WILL COMPLETE OUR TESTING AT THE NURSING HOMES THIS WEEK WITH THE 32 FACILITIES, UM, THAT THE GOVERNOR REQUESTED THAT WE COMPLETE.
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN STARTED THIS PROCESS PRIOR TO THE GOVERNOR'S RECOMMENDATION, UM, BASED UPON A RESOLUTION FROM OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS AS WELL AS THE WORK THAT OUR, UM, EPIDEMIOLOGY STAFF HAS STARTED TO NOTICE SOME CLUSTERS IN SEVERAL FACILITIES.
SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT, UM, COMPLETING THIS 32 NURSING HOME FACILITIES THIS WEEK.
UM, HI, THIS IS JANET PICHET CHIEF EPIDEMIOLOGIST.
SO I JUST WANTED TO LET EVERYONE KNOW THAT, UH, OUR STAFF HERE AT AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH CONTINUE TO, UM, CLEAN OUR DATA AND, UH, ADD STAFF TO DO DATA ANALYTICS.
SO, UH, AS WE'RE ABLE TO DO THAT, WE'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE MORE INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC, UM, AND IDENTIFY ANY ADDITIONAL NEW TRENDS THAT MIGHT BE, UH, PREVALENT IN THE, IN THE INFORMATION AND I'LL LEAVE IT THERE.
I'M GOING TO SHOW A SLIDE OF SOME ADDITIONAL DATA THAT WE HAVE BASED UPON THE WORK OUR TEAM HAS DONE.
I'M GOING TO SHARE THE SCREEN HERE.
I'M GOING TO TRY TO SHARE THIS FOR YOU HERE.
I'M GOING TO ASK OUR NAVY FOLKS TO SHARE THIS GREAT STUFF SO THAT IT DOESN'T SEEM TO BE WORKING ON MY END.
SO WHAT I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU IS OUR DATA RELATED TO FUNDING SOURCE FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO HAD BEEN HOSPITALIZED IN THE FIVE COUNTY, AUSTIN MSA.
AND, UH, WHAT THIS SHOW, THIS SLIDE IS SHOWING YOU IS A, IS A BREAKDOWN BASED UPON, UH, INSURANCE STATUS.
YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE'S A STATE INSURANCE, THERE'S FEDERAL INSURANCE, THERE'S PRIVATE INSURANCE.
UH, BUT I WANT TO POINT OUT THAT 29.3% OF THOSE HOSPITALIZED IN THE MSA ARE UNINSURED.
ALRIGHT? THIS IS A SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER NUMBER THAN THE PERCENTAGE OF UNINSURED IN TRAVIS COUNTY, WHICH IN 2018 WAS ABOUT 17%.
SO AGAIN, THIS, THIS IS CONCERNING FOR US AND IT'S CONCERNING BECAUSE, UH, FOLKS WHO LACK HEALTH INSURANCE, UH, ALSO LACK ACCESS TO, UH, TO OTHER THINGS WHICH ARE DETERMINANTS OF THEIR HEALTH.
AND I BELIEVE THIS IS WHY WE'RE SITTING A, A HIGHER PROPORTION OF THESE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE BEING HOSPITALIZED IN OUR COMMUNITY BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO CARE.
THEY HAVE UNMANAGED, UH, HEART DISEASE AND HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE AND DIABETES AND A NUMBER OF OTHER THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO IMPACT THE SEVERITY OF THEIR DISEASE FROM COVERT 19.
UH, AGAIN, WE CAN'T SOLVE ALL THE PROBLEMS THAT UNDERLIE OUR, OUR, OUR HEALTH STATUS IN THIS COMMUNITY RIGHT NOW.
BUT IT IS A STARK REMINDER THAT THESE THINGS THAT GO UNMANAGED, UH, THROUGH A LACK OF A NATIONAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM, A LACK OF COMMITMENT TO INSURANCE FOR ALL PEOPLE, UH, ARE REALLY, UH, IMPACTFUL IN SITUATIONS LIKE THIS.
AND IT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO KEEP IN MIND, UH, GOING FORWARD THAT, THAT WE NEED TO PRIORITIZE AS A COMMUNITY BECAUSE IT IS COSTING ALL OF US AND UH, PRIMARILY IT'S COSTING THESE INDIVIDUALS, UH, IN, IN TERMS OF THEIR HEALTH AND SOMETIMES IN TERMS OF THEIR LIVES.
AND I'LL TURN IT BACK OVER TO YOU FOR, FOR QUESTIONS.
IF THERE ARE NO ADDITIONAL UPDATES, I WILL INVITE OUR POOR REPORTER TO BEGIN THE Q AND A PORTION OF THIS NEWS CONFERENCE.
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THIS IS OLIVIA ALDRIDGE FROM COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER.I'M FIRST QUESTION IS FROM MY OUTLET.
AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH HAS PUT OUT TESTING GOALS THROUGH DECEMBER THAT SHOW US HITTING 40,000 TESTS IN JUNE AND 60,000 PER MONTH BETWEEN JULY AND DECEMBER.
AND YOU OUTLINE HOW YOU EXPECT TO INCREASE CURRENT TESTING CAPACITY BY ABOUT 500% BY JULY AND SUSTAIN THAT THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR.
AND WHERE MIGHT THOSE TESTS BE COMING FROM? AND SO WE'LL ALL BEGIN TO ADDRESS THAT.
SO, UH, SOME OF OUR TESTING GOALS ARE BASED ON, UH, THERE ARE SOME ASSUMPTIONS THAT WE'VE MADE, UH, IN DEVELOPING WHAT THOSE GOALS MIGHT BE.
AND THAT IS THAT, THAT THERE'S AVAILABILITY OF TESTS, UH, TO THE COMMUNITY TO, TO REACH THAT GOAL.
UM, AGAIN, IT IS A LOFTY GOAL.
IT'S, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE DO IN PARTNERSHIP WITH, UH, THE COMMUNITY.
UH, WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE RETAIL PHARMACIES THAT ARE COMING ONLINE.
THERE ARE ALSO OUR OTHER COMMUNITY PARTNERS LIKE COMMUNITY CARE AND THE HOSPITAL SYSTEMS THAT WILL ALSO BE PROVIDING SOME OF THOSE TESTING CAPABILITIES.
HOWEVER, WE AT AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH HAVE OUR COMMUNITY BASED TESTING AVAILABLE.
UM, WE'RE ABLE TO RAMP UP TO ABOUT 17 150 TESTS PER DAY.
UM, AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE ONLY SEEING ABOUT 200 PEOPLE PER DAY.
UH, EVEN THOUGH WE'VE BEEN DOING A LOT OF MEDIA, UH, PUSH TO, TO GET, UH, PEOPLE WHO MAY BE UNDERSERVED OR PEOPLE WHO ARE, UM, UN UNAVAILABLE TO, UH, TO GET IT THROUGH A TRADITIONAL MEANS, IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE COMMUNITY TO GET FREE TESTING IF THEY GO TO OUR, OUR COBIT 19 A TEST AND TAKE THE ASSESSMENT.
UM, WE ALSO, UM, PLAN ON DOING, UH, AND LOOKING AT DOING MOBILE TESTING AND TARGETED TESTING.
THAT INCLUDES THAT IN THAT, UH, TESTING ASSUMPTION.
NEXT QUESTION IS FROM REPORTING.
AUSTIN SAW VIDEOS ON SOCIAL MEDIA FROM BARS THAT DID NOT RESPECT THE CAPACITY AND SOCIAL DISTANCE GUIDELINES THIS PAST WEEKEND, BUT THERE HASN'T BEEN ANY NEWS ABOUT PENALTIES FOR DOING THAT.
ARE YOU PLANNING TO RESPOND IF BARS KEEP IGNORING THE GUIDELINES? THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS, UM, HAS AN ENFORCEMENT, UM, GROUP THAT IS COMBINED WITH AUSTIN CODE ENFORCEMENT AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
AND SO TYPICALLY, UM, THAT IT IS A COMPLAINT DRIVEN PROCESS, UM, WHERE INDIVIDUALS WOULD NEED TO CALL THREE ONE ONE.
BUT THEN ALSO WHEN, WHEN, UM, WE ARE STARTING TO SEE AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF FOLKS THAT ARE, UM, BEING IN PUBLIC SPACES, INCLUDING, UM, BEING IN BARS, ET CETERA.
UM, OUR FOLKS HAVE THE ABILITY TO GO OUT AND WE WANT TO BE EDUCATIONAL AND PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION TO THEM ABOUT THE SAFETY OF HOW, UM, LOGISTICALLY THEY SHOULD SET UP THEIR BUSINESS.
AND OUR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, UM, STAFF AS WELL ARE A PART OF THAT TEAM, WHICH INCLUDES OUR RESTAURANT INSPECTORS.
SO WE DEFINITELY ARE WANTING TO BE MORE PROACTIVE AND PROVIDE EDUCATION TO THOSE INDIVIDUALS BECAUSE WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF OUR COMMUNITY.
RIO AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY'S LOW CONTAGION NUMBERS HAVE BEEN SAID BY AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE MAYOR TO BE THE RESULT OF THOUGHTFUL INDIVIDUALS, SOCIAL DISTANCING AS APH.
HIS VIEW OF THIS BEHAVIOR CHANGED SINCE WE REOPENING.
WELL, I'LL, I'LL TAKE THAT ONE.
UH, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK THAT WE'RE ALL CONCERNED ABOUT SOME OF THE INCREASED RISK TAKING ACTIVITY THAT WE'RE SEEING.
UH, YOU JUST MENTIONED THE BARS AND THAT CERTAINLY AN EXAMPLE OF THAT.
UH, ANECDOTALLY WE'VE, WE'VE HEARD REPORTS SO I'VE CERTAINLY SEEN A DECREASE IN THE SOCIAL DISTANCING AND MASK WEARING, UH, TO PLACES WHERE I HAVE BEEN.
AND IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THE COMMUNITY TO UNDERSTAND AND IT, THIS, THIS MESSAGE IS GETTING VERY CONFUSED RIGHT NOW BECAUSE WE'RE IN AN ELECTION YEAR AND UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK IN MANY CIRCUMSTANCES THE PUBLIC'S BEING TOLD YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE PUBLIC HEALTH OR THE ECONOMY.
THOSE ARE THE ONLY TWO CHOICES AND THAT'S SIMPLY NOT TRUE.
WE'RE LOOKING FOR THE SWEET SPOT IN THE MIDDLE THAT OPTIMIZES PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE ECONOMY.
AND THAT MEANS THAT WHEN WE GO OUT, WE SHOULD DO THINGS SAFELY.
WE SHOULD WEAR OUR MASKS, WE SHOULD SOCIAL DISTANCE, WE SHOULD CONTINUE THOSE, UH, PERSONAL HYGIENE PRACTICES THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT FOR MONTHS NOW.
BECAUSE IF WE CAN DO THOSE TOGETHER, WE CAN OPTIMIZE THE BENEFITS OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE
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BENEFITS TO OUR ECONOMY.IF WE DON'T ACT RESPONSIBLY, WE RISK FAILING AT BOTH THINGS.
THIS IS A QUESTION FROM AUSTIN BUSINESS JOURNAL.
IS THERE ANY UPDATES SINCE LAST WEEK'S COUNCIL WORK SESSION ON THE CLUSTERS OF COVEN 19 BY WORKFORCE, PARTICULARLY CONSTRUCTION AND TARGETED TESTING BY INDUSTRY ON MANY OF THE 14 CLUSTERS IDENTIFIED BETWEEN MAY 7TH AND MAY 22ND ON THE DASHBOARD ARE IN CONSTRUCTION.
UM, SO I CAN PROVIDE SOME INFORMATION ON UH, THE CLUSTER.
SO THE CLUSTERS, UM, AGAIN AS WE BEGIN TO REOPEN IT, UM, WE ARE BEGINNING TO SEE MORE AND MORE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CLUSTERS NOW THAT PEOPLE ARE GOING BACK TO WORK.
UH, CONSTRUCTION, UH, HAS BEEN ONE THAT ONE AREA.
IT HAS BEEN CHALLENGING FOR US TO KIND OF NARROW DOWN, UM, WHERE PEOPLE MAY BE BECAUSE UH, AS AN EXAMPLE, YOU MAY HAVE A GENERAL CONTRACTOR WHO HAS UM, A, HAVE SEVERAL SUBCONTRACTORS.
SO AGAIN, WE ARE TRYING TO WORK AND DEVELOP AN INITIATIVE THAT WE CAN PROVIDE SOME TARGETED OUTREACH TO THOSE AREAS.
THERE HAS BEEN SOME RELUCTANCE FOR PEOPLE TO ACTUALLY COME IN AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF TESTING BECAUSE UH, IF THEY ARE IDENTIFIED AS POSITIVE, THERE MAY BE CONCERNS THAT THEY MAY BE OUT OF WORK FOR A PERIOD OF TIME.
UM, BECAUSE THEY ARE, UH, UNDER A CONTROL ORDER, UH, AND NEEDS A SELF ISOLATE FOR A 14 DAY PERIOD.
UM, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, THIS IS AN AREA THAT WE'RE CONTINUING TO LOOK AT.
UH, CONSTRUCTION'S A BIG AREA, BUT WE ARE SEEING UH, UH, CLUSTERS WITHIN FOOD SERVICE AREAS AND OTHER INDUSTRIES AS WELL.
STRINGENT UNIVISION, UM, CONSIDERING THE MOST RECENT DATA WHICH STATES THAT 76% OF THE PEOPLE HOSPITALIZED DURING THE WEEK OF MAY 18TH TO THE 24TH AND HISPANICS.
UM, WHY DON'T WE HAVE SPANISH SPEAKERS DURING THESE PRESS CONFERENCES AND THEY ALSO WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE WORK THAT THE TASK FORCE HAS BEEN DOING TO ASSIST, UM, LATINO COMMUNITY.
UM, AND THE NOTES THAT AT A COUPLE OF EVENTS THAT TOOK PLACE THIS WEEKEND, IT SEEMS LIKE THOSE INDIVIDUALS WERE DISREGARDING SOCIAL DISTANCING OR USING MOUTH COVERS.
THE, THE DEPARTMENT HAS SEVERAL EMPLOYEES THAT ARE SPANISH SPEAKING.
WE ARE WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH OUR COMMUNICATIONS, UM, CORPORATE OFFICE TO ENSURE THAT OUR MARKETING STRATEGY AND MEDIA STRATEGY, UH, WILL INCLUDE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE REFLECTIVE OF THE POPULATION THAT WE ARE WANTING THEM TO, TO REACH.
AND SO, UM, WE ARE MOVING THROUGH THAT AND REFINING THAT PROCESS SO WE WILL HAVE MORE UM, MEDIA ON CHANNELS SUCH AS UNIVERSITY-OWNED AND TELEMUNDO AS WELL AS HAVING UM, RADIO COMMERCIALS AS WELL ON THOSE LATINO AND LATINA LATIN X CHANNELS.
UM, WE, DURING THIS RESPONSE, OUR WORK HAS LED WITH AN EQUITY LENS.
THE DEPARTMENT HAS PARTNERED WITH OUR EQUITY, UM, CHIEF EQUITY OFFICER AND WE HAVE ALSO STARTED TO COLLECT SOME INFORMATION FROM SOME OF OUR HISPANIC LEADERS.
WE WILL CONTINUE THAT PROCESS TO COLLECT THAT INFORMATION FROM THEM.
AND AS A COMMUNITY WE ARE GOING TO DEVELOP A PLAN THAT WE WILL IMPLEMENT.
WE KNOW THAT IT IS VERY IMPORTANT AS WE ARE DOING THE WORK THAT WE DO PARTNER WITH OUR COMMUNITY BASED PARTNERS THAT HAVE THOSE RELATIONSHIPS IN THE COMMUNITIES WITH WHETHER IT'S LESS THAN X OR AFRICAN AMERICAN OR ASIAN POPULATION.
IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO HAVE THOSE ONGOING PARTNERSHIPS BECAUSE THOSE PARTNERSHIPS, WHETHER THEY ARE A CONTRACT OR PARTNERSHIP OR JUST AN AGREEMENT THAT WE'RE GOING TO WORK TOGETHER ON THIS EFFORT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE DO ALL OF THIS WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS AS THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, THERE HAVE BEEN MODELS THAT INDICATE WE COULD HAVE A SECOND SURGE IN TRAVIS COUNTY IN JUNE.
CAN YOU DISCUSS YOUR CONCERN ABOUT THAT POSSIBILITY? UH, SO WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THAT.
UH, AND YOU KNOW, THE, THE MODELS, THE UT MODEL, OTHER MODELS ARE ALL SUGGESTING THAT, YOU KNOW, BEGINNING,
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MID JUNE AND PARTICULARLY TOWARDS THE END OF JUNE, UH, THAT WE MAY SEE A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF CASES AND HOSPITALIZATIONS.UH, YOU KNOW, THESE MODELS ARE BASED ON ASSUMPTIONS AND PART OF THOSE ASSUMPTIONS ARE THAT PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE MORE, MORE RISK TAKING.
AND THE MORE RISK TAKING MEANS MORE CASES AND MORE CASES MEAN MORE HOSPITALIZATIONS AND DEATHS.
UH, THE, THE, THE MODELS AREN'T PREDICTING THE ABSOLUTE FUTURE AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT WE AS A COMMUNITY CAN CHANGE WHAT THAT FUTURE LOOKS LIKE.
IT IS BASED UPON OUR SOCIAL DISTANCING, OUR PERSONAL PRACTICES, THE, THE MASKING AND PUBLIC.
IT JUST TO US, IT'S UP TO US TO KEEP THE NUMBERS DOWN.
IT'S UP TO US TO KEEP BUSINESSES OPEN.
UH, IT'S, IT'S NOT JUST THE GOVERNMENT THAT CAN DO THIS FOR US.
IT'S EACH INDIVIDUAL, EACH FAMILY THAT HAS TO COMMIT TO DOING BOTH THINGS.
AND IF THAT'S THE CASE, THEN WE CAN CHANGE OUR FUTURE.
WE CAN CHANGE THE WEATHER FORECAST FOR COBRA 19 IN OUR JURISDICTION AND, UH, AND WE REALLY DO NEED TO DO THAT.
ANOTHER QUESTION ABOUT TESTING CAPACITY.
HOW CLOSE ARE WE TO REACHING THE IDEAL TESTING CAPACITY OF 2000 TESTS PER DAY? WHAT'S OUR TESTING CAPACITY TODAY AND IS THERE A CONCERN THAT ALLOWING MORE PEOPLE TO GET TESTED WILL RESULT IN MORE SHORTAGES? SO, UH, RIGHT NOW OUR, OUR, OUR TESTING CAPACITIES ABOUT 1,750 TESTS A DAY, JUST THROUGH OUR DRIVE THROUGH SIDE AT AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH.
UH, AS WAS MENTIONED EARLIER, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SEEING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF 200, 250 ON SPENT THE DAY, SOMETIMES CLOSER TO 350 A DAY.
SO WE HAVE AN EXTRA CAPACITY AT THOSE, AT THOSE CURRENT TESTING SITES.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT THAT, UH, OUR, OUR HOPE IS, AND IN CERTAINLY THE INFORMATION THAT WE'RE RECEIVING FROM THE LABS AND FROM THE STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS THAT THE TESTING SITUATION WILL CONTINUE TO IMPROVE THE AVAILABILITY OF TEST COLLECTION KITS, UH, THE, THE, THE KITS TO RUN THE TEST TO BECOME MORE AVAILABLE.
AND CERTAINLY WE'RE SEEING EVIDENCE OF THAT WITH, UH, WITH A RETAIL PHARMACY ELEMENT, UH, OPENING UP SITES HERE IN AUSTIN AND ACROSS THE STATE.
UH, SO AGAIN, UH, THE APH COMPONENT IS, IS ONE PIECE OF THE PUZZLE, BUT WE DO RELY ON A PARTNERSHIP WITH COMMUNITY CARE WHERE THE AUSTIN REGIONAL CLINIC WITH OUR HOSPITAL SYSTEMS AND THEY'VE ALL BEEN ENGAGED PARTNERS, WE ARE STILL WORKING ON A COLLABORATIVE PROCESS TO BRING THAT DATA INTO ONE PLACE.
SO WE HAVE MORE ACCURATE INFORMATION REGARDING THE TOTAL NUMBER OF TESTING DONE IN A DAY AS WELL AS THE PERCENT POSITIVE.
NOW THAT PERCENT POSITIVE, UH, TEST WILL HELP US AS, AS ONE OF THE SUPPORTING INDICATORS OR WHEN WE NEED TO ENHANCE TESTING AND POTENTIALLY WHEN WE NEED TO BE MORE CONCERNED AND DIAL THINGS BACK IN, IN, IN TERMS OF, UH, BECOMING MORE PROTECTIVE.
KATIE ASKS, UM, LAST WEEK MAYOR ADLER SAID, UM, THAT SOME TESTING FACILITIES IN THE CITY, THERE ARE MORE TESTS THAN PEOPLE COMING TO GET TESTED.
IS THAT STILL TRUE? IF SO, WE'LL APH LOWER THE BAR EVEN FURTHER FOR WHO'S ABLE TO GET TESTED.
UH, SO AGAIN, WE, WE'RE NOT MAXIMIZING THE, THE CAPACITY THAT WE HAVE WITH THOSE TESTING SITES, UH, AND THE BAR IS, IS, IS PRETTY LOW RIGHT NOW.
THE RISKS THAT WE HAVE WITH, WITH LONG THE BAR, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE SEEN SOME COMMUNITIES WHO ARE TESTING EVERYONE THAT COMES, UH, THERE'S A BIT OF A DIMINISHING RETURN.
UH, AND YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE TESTS ARE UTILIZING TAXPAYER DOLLARS, UH, TO, TO PERFORM THE TESTS.
AND IF THE RETURN ON THAT INVESTMENT IS VERY, VERY SMALL, THOSE RESOURCES MIGHT BE BETTER UTILIZED TO CARE FOR PEOPLE OR TO, TO, UH, UTILIZE FOUR, FOUR DIFFERENT PUBLIC HEALTH MEASURES US.
SO WE DON'T WANT TO HAVE A 0% POSITIVE, UH, TESTING RATE, BUT WE DO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE TESTING ENOUGH.
SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO REASSESS THAT SITUATION.
UH, WE ARE REACHING OUT TO TARGETED GROUPS, AS WAS SAID BEFORE.
UH, WE ARE REACHING OUT TO OUR, OUR, UH, MINORITY COMMUNITIES, OUR LATIN X AND OUR AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES TO ENSURE THAT THEY HAVE ADEQUATE ACCESS TO TESTING OR EXAMINING DIFFERENT STRATEGIES FOR, UH, FOR TESTING FOLKS THAT MAY NOT BE ABLE TO MAKE IT THROUGH A DRIVE THROUGH SITE.
AND AGAIN, THIS IS A PARTNERSHIP ACROSS OUR COMMUNITY AND, UH, AND YOU KNOW, WE, WE EXPECT THAT TOGETHER AS A COMMUNITY, WE'LL BE ABLE TO REACH THE GOALS THAT WE NEED TO, TO MAINTAIN PUBLIC HEALTH.
ALEX WANTS TO KNOW, UM, JUST FOR CLARITY, WHETHER THEIR CONCERN SHOULD BE MORE ABOUT THE HOSPITALIZATION RATE OR ALL COVEN 19 CASES IN GENERAL.
SO THE HOSPITALIZATION, RIGHT, THAT WE FOCUS ON AND THAT'S REALLY OUR KEY INDICATOR OF A, WE'RE IN TROUBLE, UH, IS
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UTILIZED BECAUSE IT IS LESS AMENABLE TO VARIATIONS IN THE, IN THE AMOUNTS OF TESTING BEING DONE.UH, SO THAT, THAT IS A RELATIVELY FIXED RATIO.
AND IT ALSO POINTS TO THE, THE CHIEF CONCERN THAT WE HAVE.
AND THAT CHIEF CONCERN IS OVERWHELMING OUR HEALTHCARE SYSTEM OVERALL, MY HEALTHCARE SYSTEM, UH, WE, WE EXCEED THE CAPACITY OF OUR HOSPITALS TO CARE FOR PEOPLE, UH, THAT WILL LEAD TO EXCESS DEATHS.
IT WILL LEAD TO, UH, EXCESS EXPOSURE OF OUR HEALTHCARE WORKERS.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE REALLY WANT TO TRY TO AVOID.
UH, SO UTILIZING THAT, THAT HOSPITALIZATION RATE AS THE KEY INDICATOR IS, IS REALLY, UH, THE MOST USEFUL AND THE LESS, UM, IT'S INDICATOR GONNA BE LESS A VARIABLE BASED ON THE AMOUNT OF TESTING THAT WE'RE ABLE TO DO.
UM, AS YOU JUST POINTED OUT, HOSPITALIZATIONS ARE A KEY INDICATOR OF WHETHER WE WERE AT RISK OF OVERWHELMING OUR HOSPITALS.
SO WHAT ARE SOME STEPS APH MIGHT TAKE AT THE SEVEN DAY AVERAGE EXCEEDS 20 NEW HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS PER DAY.
SO TOMORROW WE EXPECT TO HAVE THE PRESS CONFERENCE TO DISCUSS, UH, THE, THE MEASURES, UH, FOR DIALING UP OR DIALING DOWN, UH, BASED UPON THE HOSPITALIZATION RATE AS WELL AS SOME OTHER FACTORS THAT, UH, THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE MONITORING.
UH, SO WE'LL HAVE MORE INFORMATION ON THAT TOMORROW.
AND HOW WORRIED IS THE CITY ABOUT THE ACCURACY OF TESTING AS IT INCREASES THE NUMBER OF TESTS? UM, ARE THERE CERTAIN TESTS YOU ARE MORE OR LESS CONFIDENT IN AND WHICH TEST IS PRIMARILY USED? SO ALSO PUBLIC HEALTH IS USING THE, THE, UH, THE, THE PCR TEST.
UH, SO THIS IS THE GOLD STANDARD FOR TESTING.
RIGHT NOW WE ARE NOT UTILIZING ANY ANTIBODY TESTING, UH, FOR INSTANCE TO MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT INDIVIDUAL CARE.
UH, WE ARE WORKING WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS ON A SERIAL PREVALENCE STUDY, WHICH WE'LL USE ANTIBODY TEST TO MAKE SOME POPULATION DETERMINATIONS OF, OF EXPOSURE AND PREVALENCE OF DISEASE OVER TIME.
AUSTIN CHRONICLE ASKS, ARE THE OPTIONS FOR SURGE HOSPITAL CAPACITY AND ISOLATION CENTERS? APH LAY IT OUT A FEW WEEKS AGO.
STILL AVAILABLE NOW IF CASES SPIKE.
UM, THOSE OPTIONS AS WE DO OUR PLANNING, WE ARE, WE ARE ALWAYS PLANNING AND LOOKING AT THE VARIOUS SCENARIOS.
WE USE THE DATA THEN DR ESCHATON MENTIONED AND WE WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS COLLABORATIVELY AT THE, UH, HOSPITAL SYSTEMS AS WELL AS OTHER EMERGENCY SYSTEMS. AND SO THOSE OPTIONS CONTINUE TO BE AVAILABLE FOR US TO SET UP.
ANOTHER QUESTION FROM COMMUNITY IMPACT.
UM, WHAT WOULD SOME POTENTIAL NEXT STEPS BE FOR THE CITY AND COUNTY IF WE SEE HOSPITALIZATION SPIKE IN THE NEXT SEVEN TO 10 DAYS? AGAIN, WE'LL BE DISCUSSING SOME OF THOSE OPTIONS AS WELL AS THE CHARTER POINTS TOMORROW.
UM, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A DIFFICULT BALANCE BECAUSE, UH, BECAUSE OF, UH, EXECUTIVE ORDERS FROM, FROM THE STATE IN RELATION TO, UH, ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES AND, AND OPENING A BUSINESSES.
BUT I FEEL CONFIDENT THAT IF AUSTIN SEES A SUBSTANTIAL SURGE IN HOSPITALIZATIONS, UH, THAT THE STATE WOULD AGREE THAT, UH, THAT IT WOULD BE TIME TO DIAL THINGS BACK, AT LEAST LOCALLY.
UH, AS I DISCUSSED LAST WEEK, DIFFERENT JURISDICTIONS, DIFFERENT METROPOLITAN COUNTIES AND CITIES ACROSS THE STATE OF TEXAS ARE GOING TO EXPERIENCE SURGE AT DIFFERENT TIMES.
AND THEREFORE THAT LOCAL DECISION MAKING THAT LOCAL CONTROL IS, IS GOING TO BE VERY IMPORTANT.
UH, SO THAT INDIVIDUAL JURISDICTIONS CAN MAKE DETERMINATIONS FOR, UH, FOR THEIR COMMUNITY TO ENSURE THAT, THAT WE DON'T EXCEED CAPACITY AND HAVE UNNECESSARY DEATHS.
UH, REPORTING AUSTIN ASKS, HAVE YOU ADVANCED IN THE CREATION OF A TASK FORCE TO FURTHER PREVENT CONTAGION WITHIN THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY IN AUSTIN? THE DEPARTMENT IS, IS WORKING WITH THE, UM, IT'S CALLED A, UM, EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY, UM, CABINET AND THAT SPECIFIC CABINET IS UM, A TEAM OF CITY EMPLOYEES AS WELL AS ELECTED OFFICIALS.
AND SO THAT TAB, THAT CABINET, UM, IS GOING TO UM, CONTINUE TO WORK WITH A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS TO DEVELOP THAT PROCESS WHERE WE WILL HEAR DIRECTLY FROM OUR, UM, LESSEN NEXT LEADERS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
WE HAVE BEGUN, UM, WE HAVE RECEIVED SOME INFORMATION
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FROM THEM AS WELL AND RECOMMENDATIONS AND SO WE ARE GOING TO BE A PART OF THAT PROCESS AS WELL.FROM COOPERATIVE, LEO, THERE ARE GENERALLY THREE POTENTIAL OUTCOMES RESULTING FROM REOPENING DECLINE, A CONTINUANCE OF THE PLATEAU OR AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF CASES.
WHAT ARE THE SIGNS THAT APH IS CLOSELY MONITORING TO SEE WHICH IS THE CASE.
AGAIN, WE'RE LOOKING AT A NUMBER OF FACTORS.
UH, THAT'S THE, THE HOSPITALIZATION RATE.
UH, WE HAVE A WHOLE HOST OF FACTORS THAT WE'RE MONITORING AND AGAIN, WE'LL BE DISCUSSING THOSE IN FURTHER DETAIL TOMORROW, UH, AS WELL AS A, A NEW DASHBOARD FOR THAT.
UH, WE'RE GOING TO BE CREATING SO THE COMMUNITY CAN MONITOR THAT ALSO.
UH, WE, WE WANT THE COMMUNITY TO UNDERSTAND THE THINGS THAT WE'RE WATCHING SO THEY CAN WATCH ALSO SO THEY CAN ADJUST THEIR, UH, THEIR ACTIVITIES BASED ON THAT.
AND AGAIN, ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE CREATED THE, THE STAGING, UH, OF RISK THAT WE SENT OUT A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO IS THAT THE COMMUNITY CAN BE KNOWLEDGEABLE.
THEY CAN MAKE DECISIONS BASED ON THEIR INDIVIDUAL RISK AND THEIR HOUSEHOLD RISK.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER IT.
I THINK SOMETIMES THE MESSAGE IS GETTING CONFUSED.
UH, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT CLUSTERS AROUND CONSTRUCTION AND OTHER SERVICE INDUSTRIES, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT OUR CONCERNS ABOUT THE LATIN NEXT COMMUNITY AND AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY, THIS SHOULD NOT TRANSLATE TO I, I'M NOT ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE SO I'M NOT AT RISK.
THERE IS WIDESPREAD COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION OF KOMEN 19 THE UNITED STATES.
IT IS WIDESPREAD ACROSS TEXAS.
SO WHAT WE'RE DESCRIBING IS HOTSPOTS.
WE'RE SAYING RIGHT NOW THOSE HOTSPOTS MAY CHANGE IN THE FUTURE.
SO IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THE COMMUNITY UNDERSTAND THAT WE'RE ALL AT SOME DEGREE OF RISK AND THAT RISK TAKING BEHAVIOR IS GOING TO INCREASE THAT LIKELIHOOD OF BRINGING COHEN 19 HOME TO THEIR FAMILY.
SO IT IS CRITICAL THAT ALL OF US ACROSS THE COMMUNITY, REGARDLESS OF WHAT YOUR OCCUPATION IS OR WHAT YOUR RACIAL OR ETHNIC BACKGROUND IS, THAT WE CONTINUE TO USE CAUTION SO THAT WE CAN AT LEAST MAINTAIN THAT PLATEAU AND HOPEFULLY SEE A DECLINE IN CASES.
WE HAVE TIME FOR TWO MORE QUESTIONS.
KBU ASKS, IS THE CITY OF AUSTIN WILLING TO APPEAL TO THE STATE AND THE GOVERNOR FOR MORE LOCAL CONTROL IN THE EVENT OF A SURGE? I THINK THAT THAT APPEAL HAS BEEN CONSTANT.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT THAT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WHERE WE ARE OFTENTIMES THIS IS BEING PAINTED AS A BATTLE BETWEEN THE STATE AND LOCAL.
UH, I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF AREAS OF AGREEMENT.
I THINK WHEN YOU SEE, UH, THE STATE'S COMMENTS, THE GOVERNOR'S COMMENTS, IT'S ALWAYS, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE ALWAYS CAUTIOUS.
I, YOU KNOW, HE WANTS TO OPEN THE ECONOMY, BUT HE WANTS PEOPLE TO BE CAUTIOUS.
THERE IS A BALANCE THERE AND I THINK THAT, THAT WE'RE ALL TALKING ABOUT THAT BALANCE, BUT WE ALSO NEED TO ALL APPRECIATE THAT DIFFERENT JURISDICTIONS, DIFFERENT CITIES AND COUNTIES ARE GONNA BE AT DIFFERENT STAGES IN THIS OUTBREAK.
AND WE ABSOLUTELY NEED BETTER LOCAL CONTROL SO THAT WE CAN TAILOR OUR RESPONSE AND TAILOR OUR CAUTION BASED ON WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR COMMUNITY.
FINAL QUESTIONS FROM THE STATESMAN.
HAVE LOCAL HEALTH OFFICIALS BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN GATHERING AND COMBINING INFECTION DATA FROM PRIVATE PARTNERS AND OTHER MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY GOVERNMENTS? HOW WELL DO CITY AND COUNTY NUMBERS REFLECT THE INFECTION RATE WITHIN THE MSA? AND DO YOU BELIEVE NUMBERS COULD BE HIGHER THAN WHAT'S REPORTED? UM, THEY ALL ANSWERED THAT.
I THINK, UM, BY VIRTUE OF THE STATE REPORTING RULE, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GATHER INFORMATION FROM, UH, OUR LOCAL PARTNERS AND PHYSICIANS, UH, SINCE IT'S REQUIRED BY LAW TO BE REPORTED TO THE LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
SO IT DOES PROVIDE, UM, US AN OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, RECEIVE CASES BOTH FROM EITHER THE LABORATORY OR FROM, UH, STU CLINICIANS OUT IN THE COMMUNITY WHO ARE REPORTING CASES INTO THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT FOR FOLLOWUP.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH A PUBLIC HEALTH REGION, WHICH, UH, WE'RE IN PUBLIC HEALTH REGION SEVEN OF THE STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND OUR LOCAL, UH, NEIGHBORING JURISDICTIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SHARING INFORMATION BECAUSE OFTENTIMES WE DO RECEIVE CHASES OF THEIRS AND THEY MAY RECEIVE CASES OF OURS THAT REQUIRES SOME FOLLOW UP.
UH, AGAIN, WE DO KNOW THAT THERE ARE CLUSTERS THAT ARE, UH, INVOLVING RESIDENTS OF BOTH COMMUNITIES, LIKE DIFFERENT, DIFFERENT COUNTIES.
UM, IT MAY BE RELATED TO A PARTICULAR SITE, UH, AND
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WE'RE HAVING TO WORK WITH THEM CLOSELY BECAUSE THE SITE MIGHT BE IN THERE, THEY'RE A COUNTY, BUT, UH, THE CASES ARE IN OUR COUNTY.SO WE'RE WORKING VERY CLOSELY AND DILIGENTLY WITH THEM TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO RESPOND AS QUICKLY AND EFFECTIVELY AS POSSIBLE.
THANK YOU OLIVIA FOR ASKING THOSE QUESTIONS.
I'LL ASK IF ANY OF OUR SPEAKERS HAVE ANY FINAL THOUGHTS THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO SHARE.
I'LL GO AHEAD AND GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.
I WILL JUST SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, FOR AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, ESPECIALLY FOR THE STAFF AND EPIDEMIOLOGY AND PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, THIS IS A VERY REAL, UH, UH, RESPONSE THAT WE'RE HAVING.
WE'RE ACTUALLY COMMUNICATING WITH CASES OR FAMILIES, UH, WHO HAVE, UH, FAMILY MEMBERS WHO SUCCUMB TO THE ILLNESS.
SO IT REALLY IS, UM, IT CAN BE STRESSFUL AND, UM, UH, FOR, FOR OUR, OUR STAFF JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE DEALING AND COMMUNICATING WITH THOSE PEOPLE.
SO IT DOES HIT HOME FOR US ON MANY LEVELS AND WE JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE PROTECTING OUR COMMUNITY AT LARGE.
UH, THE BEST THAT WE CAN THROUGHOUT THIS RESPONSE.
WE HAVE LED WITH AN EQUITY LENS.
IT IS SO IMPORTANT AS A HEALTH DEPARTMENT TO WORK WITH ALL POPULATIONS TO ENSURE THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES.
WE ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS.
THROUGHOUT THIS RESPONSE WE HAVE BEEN, UM, IN COMMUNICATIONS WITH SEVERAL INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE PROVIDED INFORMATION TO US RESEARCH TO US AND SO WE ARE ALWAYS RECEPTIVE TO HEAR FROM THE PUBLIC.
WE KNOW WE CANNOT DO THIS WORK ALONE.
LASTLY, IT IS SO IMPORTANT AS AN INDIVIDUAL, WHETHER YOU'RE A SINGLE INDIVIDUAL OR YOU ARE IN A MARITAL RELATIONSHIP, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO MAKE THE BEST DECISION FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.
WHEN YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT SHOULD I GO OUT TO DINNER, SHOULD I STAY HOME? ULTIMATELY WE WANT TO PROTECT OUR VETERANS, OUR VULNERABLE POPULATIONS.
WE WANT TO ENSURE OUR HEALTH THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR PROGRAMS ARE REACHING INDIVIDUALS THAT MAY NOT NORMALLY BE REACHED WITH OTHER EFFORTS.
AND WE'RE GOING TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO ENSURE THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY.
AND I'LL CLOSE BY SAYING AUSTIN AND CENTRAL TEXAS HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB AT FLATTENING THE CURVE.
WE HAVE TO CONTINUE THOSE EFFORTS.
WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO PROTECT OURSELVES, TO PROTECT AUSTIN, TO PROTECT TEXAS A, AND IT'S NOT ONLY PROTECTING PUBLIC HEALTH, IT'S ALSO PROTECTING ECONOMY.
IF WE GO OUT, LET'S DO IT SAFELY SO THAT WE CAN KEEP BOTH THINGS.
WE CAN GROW BOTH THINGS, AND THAT WE CAN DO BOTH THINGS EFFECTIVELY.
THANK YOU TO OUR SPEAKERS AND EVERYONE JOINING US THIS MORNING.
THAT CONCLUDES THIS MORNING'S PRESS CONFERENCE.