AUSTIN (KXAN) — On the morning that President Donald Trump tested positive for COVID-19, leaders from Austin Public Health are set to provide the latest on where the outbreak stands locally.
Dr. Mark Escott, the interim health authority for Austin-Travis County, will join Austin Public Health Director Stephanie Hayden and Chief Epidemiologist Janet Pichette for their weekly virtual briefing on COVID-19. That will happen at 11 a.m. Friday.
Earlier this week, Dr. Escott said he supports the decision by the Austin Independent School District to begin welcoming back students on Oct. 5 for in-person learning despite the concerns and pushback from teachers and staff members. He repeated that he saw more reports of COVID-19 spreading in extracurricular activities and social gatherings rather than in classroom settings.
However, Dr. Escott told Travis County commissioners this week that younger people should be more careful in protecting themselves against COVID-19. The data, he said, showed that the 10-19 age group previously made up 7.1% of all hospitalizations and has now dropped to 2.1%, but that trend is not the same for all age groups. Dr. Escott said the 20-29 age group has increased from making up 13.3% of all hospitalizations to 15.9%.
KXAN will stream the Austin Public Health briefing in this story as well as the KXAN News Facebook page.
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