350 New Coronavirus Cases For Austin Area Are Backlogged Data

AUSTIN, TX — Austin Public Health officials reported 350 new cases of the coronavirus on Tuesday, but said the spike was due to a backlog of previously unreported cases from their state counterparts. Two new deaths also were reported on Tuesday, bringing the total fatality count to 337 deaths.

A backlog of more than 2,200 lab-confirmed cases from the Department of State Health Services led to the surge of additional cases on Tuesday, local health officials report. The total cases since the onset of the respiratory illness now numbers 24,758, according to an Austin Public Health statistical dashboard that is updated daily.

Of the total number of patients recorded, health officials said, 23,451 are expected to ultimately recover from the illness. That leaves 970 active cases, which represents an increase of 40 from the previous day.

In a prepared statement, Austin Public Health officials said they have begun to process and enter the 2,200 backlogged reports received on August 13 from state officials. Based on local health officials' explanation, the backlogged numbers now input into current data has had the effect of muddying the up-to-date count.

"The majority of the results are duplicate records with case investigation already completed by APH," officials said in their statement. "Additionally, many of the results are from more than a month ago, with some records dating back as far as April. While backlogged lab results are just being received by APH, most cases should have been notified by their providers of their results. The new cases are the result of a backlog of electronic lab reports sent from the DSHS. The National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NEDSS) Electronic Laboratory Reporting (ELR) system at DSHS provides a method for hospital and clinical laboratories to electronically submit test results to fulfill their statutory obligation to report test results to the public health authority."

By its own admission, Austin Public Health is unsure what the ultimate impact will be in light of the new data that was inadvertently backlogged: "APH will continue to process the backlogged lab results and will not know the true impact of the reporting error until processing is complete," public health officials said.

Austin Public Health officials have scheduled a weekly news conference to update the public on the coronavirus reach and ongoing efforts to combat it.

Separately, officials at Ascension Seton, Bayor Scott & White Health and St. David's Healthcare provided statistics related to its hospital capacity — figures showing adequate capability that belies the impact a 350-case surge would create were it a one-day increase rather than backlogged data. According to the medical officials, the 2,473 staffed beds within all three healthcare systems are 72 percent occupied, and the 483 ICU beds are 80 percent occupied.

For more information and updates about COVID-19, visit the City of Austin website on coronavirus. Find more details on the impact of the illness scourge at the Austin Public Health dashboard.