AUSTIN, Texas — Austin on Wednesday recorded the most ever patients in intensive care units across the area with coronavirus-related illnesses since the pandemic began last spring, according to the latest data from Austin's coronavirus dashboard.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Austin Public Health reported that 223 people were in ICUs with 145 on ventilators.
Wednesday is the third day in a row that Austin has broken the record for the most patients to have the coronavirus in intensive care and the most people with the disease on ventilators.
On Tuesday, 217 people were in ICUs with 137 on ventilators.
The Austin area was also just one hospitalization shy from tying the previous record for the most people hospitalized for the disease at once, which was 619 hospitalizations set during the January coronavirus surge. On Wednesday, 618 people were hospitalized with illnesses linked to the disease.
Dr. Desmar Walkes, Austin-Travis County health authority, said on Tuesday that while those needing intensive care and ventilators continue to increase, there is some hope Austin has reached the peak of the current surge because the rolling weekly average of new hospitalizations appear to have plateaued.
Weekly rolling averages of new, daily hospitalizations are used by Austin Public Health to gauge the level of threat of coronavirus spread within the community. On Wednesday, the average was at 76.
The average over the past week has stayed between 76 and the recent high of 83.
The pandemic record for the rolling weekly average of new daily hospitalizations was 93.7 set in January.
Austin Public Health currently has the area in Stage 5 of the agency's risk-based guidelines, which is triggered when the average reaches 50.
