AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- As a surge of COVID-19 cases continues to grip the area, the number of available intensive care beds in the 11-county area surrounding Austin has fallen to just two as of Tuesday morning.
Austin-Travis County health authority Dr. Desmar Walkes provided her weekly update to a joint session of the Austin City Council and Travis County Commissioners Court Tuesday morning.
"There are people that are waiting for ICU beds in our emergency rooms," said Walkes.
Trauma Service Area "O", which contains Travis County and 10 other surrounding counties, is home to roughly 2.3 million people.
The number of available ICU beds has been fluctuating over the past week, but Walkes said the entire state is seeing the strain placed on hospitals as COVID-19 and the Delta variant are causing a resurgence in new cases, particularly in those who are unvaccinated. The number of available ICU beds has been dwindling towards the single digits in many of the state's hospital regions.
According to Austin Public Health data, more than 80% of the 759 patients who were hospitalized between July 26 and Aug. 8 were not vaccinated.
Monday night, Walkes gave a presentation to the Austin ISD Board of Trustees, shortly before AISD Superintendent Dr. Stephanie Elizalde announced the district would require everyone to wear masks at district campuses beginning Wednesday.
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“We now have the use of vaccines to keep from being infected by the virus and that’s great for those over the age of 12," said Walkes. "In the meantime, we have to protect those under 12 by decreasing their level of exposure and that’s going to be achieved by masking."
AISD joins Dallas ISD and likely Houston ISD in enacting a mask mandate, going against Gov. Greg Abbott's executive order that bars local school districts and other governmental entities from enacting mask mandates.