Getty Sam Ehlinger #11 of the Texas Longhorns is congratulated by teammates after a rushing touchdown in the third quarter against the Utah Utes during the Valero Alamo Bowl at the Alamodome on December 31, 2019.
The University of Texas at Austin has put a lot of safety measures in place for tonight’s football game. But while you’re watching, you may be wondering just how many COVID-19 cases are at UT-Austin and how many coronavirus cases are in Austin in general. Here’s what we know.
Here’s a Look at COVID-19 Cases in Austin & the University of Texas
According to the UT-Austin COVID-19 dashboard, there have been a total of 814 positive cases on campus since March 1, including 633 students and 181 staff. You’ll likely hear this number a lot tonight, but it’s important to remember that this number accounts for all the positive cases since March 1. It is not a reflection of the current number of positive cases.
UT’s COVID-19 Cases Per Day dashboard gives a better reflection of coronavirus numbers when viewed on a day-by-day basis. According to that dashboard, there were 19 positive test results reported on September 11, 22 new positive results on September 9, and 15 new positive results on September 8. The biggest spike was September 2 with 91 reported new positive results. These numbers represent an aggregate of positive results from University Health Services, UT Health Austin, community testing, Austin Public Health, and self reports.
The University of Texas noted about the “new cases per day” numbers:
This section displays new positive cases per day as indicated by positive results of tests conducted in University Health Services (UHS) and UT Health Austin (UTHA) clinics, clinically confirmed positive results of proactive community testing at UT Austin, and positive test results reported to UHS, UT’s Occupational Health Program (OHP), and Austin Public Health (APH) for students, faculty, and staff tested at facilities other than UHS or UTHA.
UT-Austin’s dashboard also lists weekly “community testing” summaries. However, the “Cases per Day” dashboard is a better source for viewing current trends, as it also includes the community testing results within its graph.
According to the Austin-Travis County dashboard, there have been a total of 27,525 cases in Travis County alone since reporting began, including 402 deaths. The dashboard shows 97 hospitalized, including 34 in ICU and 23 on ventilators within Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis, and Williamson Counties.
As far as new cases reported per day in Travis County, the graph shows a spike in June and July, with a decrease in numbers overall in August, although still not as low as what we saw in April and May. You can also see on the dashboard that hospitalizations and ICU admissions peaked in July and have been on a downward trend since August.
The Longhorns Are Taking Many Precautions Tonight
Tonight the Texas Longhorns face off against the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) Miners starting at 8 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. Central.) A lot of measures are in place to protect against COVID-19. The football players were tested three times this week for COVID-19, and about 3,000 students who have a Big Ticket package are also being tested, KXAN reported. People are also supposed to be socially distancing in the stands as they can.
The game is taking place at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium and the crowd’s going to be a lot smaller than most people are used to. Only about 18,000 are expected to be attending, which is 25% of capacity, KXAN reported. The Longhorn Band also won’t be there today, but you’ll still see Bevo.
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