AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Public Health said on Saturday that it’s currently conducting contact tracing on hundreds of people based on the first three cases in Austin.
The two Austin patients are reported as being a man in his 60s and a woman in her 30s. The third patient, a woman between 30 and 35, is a resident of Galveston County. She was sent home for self-quarantine after testing presumptive positive at St. David’s Emergency Center-Bee Cave.
Neither of the Austin cases are related, according to APH Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott. Neither case is believed to be community spread.
If you believe you’re aware that you’ve had contact with someone who has COVID-19, APH has issued some new advice for what you should do.
New advice states:
- Anyone who is aware of close unprotected contact (within 6 feet) of an individual with COVID-19 should stay home and monitor their temperature and symptoms for 14 days.
- Individuals aware they have been in the same room, but not within six feet, of an individual with COVID-19 should self-monitor their temperature and symptoms for 14 days, avoid close gatherings where they cannot maintain 6 feet of separation from others, including mass transit and air travel.
- Individuals exposed to a case who become symptomatic, including with a cough and/or fever, should stay home and contact their primary care provider or telemedicine provider for advice and assessment of testing priority with Austin Public Health.
- Anyone who is feeling sick — even if they are not aware of any contact with a COVID-19 case — should also stay at home.
APH says it’s working in collaboration with the Dell Medical School and local healthcare systems to rapidly increase the availability of testing, including locations for drive-through testing.
Additionally, APH issued new control measures for hospitals, doctor’s offices, clinics and other health care facilities. These include:
- “Help Prevent Disease” signs provided by Austin Public Health must be displayed prominently in all healthcare facilities.
- Hand sanitizer must be available and supplied to employees, patients, visitors, and volunteers.
- The facility must symptom check all employees, patients, visitors, and volunteers prior to entry and may not allow any persons into the facility who exhibit symptoms of COVID-19, unless they are patients.
- The facility will develop a plan to screen, identify and, when required, isolate individuals and patients presenting to healthcare facilities using CDC recommendations to assess and further direct the care of patients and individuals presenting to the facility.
- The facility will apply the same approach of screening, identifying and, when required, isolating healthcare workers employed by or affiliated with the facility.
- All healthcare workers should self-monitor their temperature prior to and at least once during their shift.
- Any suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 should be reported to Austin Public Health in the usual manner for notification of reportable disease.
“Preserving healthcare system functioning is paramount during the spread of COVID-19,” said Dr. Mark Escott, APH’s interim local health authority. “I believe this order is an appropriate control measure to ensure healthcare facilities can continue to provide care for all patients at the appropriate level while reducing the transmission of disease.”
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