A total of 17 people have now tested positive for the new coronavirus in Travis County, Austin officials announced Tuesday evening.
That’s up from the 10 positive cases officials reported Monday.
Austin officials on Tuesday evening said they are unsure whether the new virus is spreading from person-to-person in the county because they are still investigating how some of these 17 people may have gotten the illness.
As a result, people in Travis County should be cautious and act as if there is community spread, city officials said.
Earlier Tuesday, Travis County and Austin officials prohibited gatherings of 10 or more people and ordered restaurants’ dining rooms and bars to close.
Curbside pickup, take-out and delivery are allowed at restaurants under the order. Restrictions on gatherings also do not apply to grocery stores and pharmacies.
Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday warned Texans to expect the number of people diagnosed with COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, to grow rapidly in the coming days as testing ramps up across the state.
“You are going to see an exponential increase in the number of people who test positive on a daily basis,” Abbott said. “People just need to be prepared and not shocked for the mathematical reality.”
Numbers will rise as the virus spreads from person to person in Texas, but the uptick will also be the result of plans to vastly increase testing. More private, state and Federal Emergency Management Agency-sponsored testing sites are expected to come online by the end of the week, allowing more than 10,000 COVID-19 tests a week to be administered statewide, Abbott said.
CORONAVIRUS IN TEXAS: What we know, latest updates
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