Ahead of Labor Day, Austin area reports highest weekly COVID death toll in more than a year

Austin American-Statesman - 9/4/2021

Austin Public Health on Friday recorded the highest weekly death count for COVID-19-related illnesses in more than a year, a devastating reality that two of the area's top health leaders say was avoidable.

A total of 36 people died from illnesses linked to the coronavirus in the past seven days, according to data collected from last Aug. 28 through Friday.

Twelve of those deaths occurred Thursday, said Dr. Desmar Walkes, Austin-Travis County health authority.

Walkes and interim Austin Public Health Director Adrienne Sturrup agreed that more people choosing to get the COVID-19 vaccine, in addition to the majority of citizens wearing masks when it public, would have been enough to stop the high number of deaths from occurring, even with the presence of the delta variant of the coronavirus.

"It's a sobering moment to realize that we've had 36 people die unnecessarily from COVID in the last week," Sturrup said, taking a moment of silence with Walkes for those lost. "It's hard for me to celebrate the progress that we're making. All the numbers are showing that we are moving in the right direction, but those deaths weigh heavy on my mind because there's so much that we can do."

Sturrup reminded the public on Friday to continue wearing masks and to practice social distancing, especially during Labor Day. Walkes said Labor Day last year did not trigger a surge in coronavirus cases because, in addition to there being no presence of the delta variant, schools were largely not holding in-person classes.

Walkes said she expects this Labor Day will be much different than last year's, adding it will be very important for people to avoid large crowds and to wear masks if they can't be avoided.

"We really want to stress the importance of getting vaccinated at this time," Walkes added. "We're seeing more individuals who are younger and unvaccinated die from this illness, who were perfectly healthy. We're seeing a lot of people die from this."

"We know what works," Sturrup added. "We've proven it. Masking, social distancing, avoiding large crowds, washing your hands, staying home when you're sick, those are all things that we can continue to do."

Austin Public Health had been reporting deaths every day of the week, but in recent months has stopped reporting on weekends. Weekend deaths now are added to the death counts listed on Mondays. Deaths counted during this Labor Day weekend will instead be posted Tuesday.

To compare the 36 deaths counted this week, the American-Statesman looked at previous weekly death tolls from Saturdays through Fridays. The last time the Austin area reached such a high death count was the week ending on Aug. 14, 2020, when 37 deaths were reported. The record for the most deaths in a week was 45, when coronavirus cases were surging in late July of 2020.

A total of 979 Travis County residents have died from the disease since the start of the pandemic, Friday's data show.

Health officials were tracking 584 people in the hospital with COVID-19 on Friday, up by two since Thursday but a continued improvement over the pandemic record high of 653 set Aug. 25.

Travis County over the past several weeks has tallied record-breaking numbers of new hospitalizations linked to COVID-19. Even more alarming has been the number of people needing critical care because of more serious and prolonged illnesses than seen in past surges.

However, Walkes on Friday said, despite the high number of deaths, new hospitalizations have slowly decreased over the past several days.

The county recorded 69 new hospital admissions for COVID-19 on Friday, which lowered the rolling seven-day average that Austin Public Health uses to help determine how the most medically vulnerable can protect against the coronavirus. Friday's average of 66 was the lowest it's been since early August.

As many as 218 people were in area ICUs for COVID-19 on Friday. That number hit a pandemic record high of 237 on Aug. 22.

As hospitalizations for the coronavirus are slowly decreasing, vaccination rates for Travis County are slowly going up.

State data on Friday showed that a total of 78.73% of Travis County residents who are 12 years or older have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. Of those, 67.7% are fully vaccinated.

Austin Public Health leaders said they are hoping to see 20,000 individuals get vaccinated to better protect the community from another surge this fall, adding that vaccination clinics will be open during the holiday weekend.

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Austin Public Health and Travis County are providing free COVID-19 vaccinations at pop-up clinics Saturday for all medically eligible residents. You don't need to register, have identification or insurance. If you are receiving your second dose, please bring your Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 vaccination record card to be updated.

Montopolis Flea Market: 1313 Montopolis Drive

** 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

** Vaccine: Pfizer (12 or older), Moderna (18 or older)

Southeast Library: 5803 Nuckols Crossing Road

** 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

** Vaccine: Pfizer (12 or older), Moderna (18 or older)

Little Walnut Creek Library: 835 W. Rundberg Lane

** 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

** Vaccine: Pfizer (12 or older), Moderna (18 or older)

Video Super: 5310 S. Pleasant Valley Road #B

** 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

** Vaccine: Pfizer (12 or older), Moderna (18 or older)