Austin Public Health Acknowledges Coronavirus Data Error

Tony Cantu
Updated ·2 min read

AUSTIN, TX — Austin Public Health officials on Thursday reported a reporting error in hospital census and admissions counts related to the coronavirus.

The error from the health district's hospital partners was scheduled to be corrected in the health district's statistical dashboards on Thursday, officials said in an advisory. The error caused inaccurate COVID-19 hospital census and admissions reporting between Oct. 9-20, officials acknowledged.

But Austin Public Health officials insisted the hospital reporting process has been fixed, adding that the data error was "proactively identified" after being reported to officials.

Related story: Austin Public Health Redefines 'Close Contact' Amid Coronavirus

"This information is being shared to ensure full transparency and clarity with the community on the hospital data,” Dr. Mark Escott, Interim Austin-Travis County Health Authority, said in a prepared statement. “Likewise, the adjustment in the data to reflect the true hospital numbers will help provide the community with a more accurate reflection of the virus spread in the city and county. This data adjustment does not change the overall troubling trend of increased admissions, and our community still needs to continue protective measures to keep themselves and our community safe.”

The backlogged cases were scheduled to be added on Thursday to the historical dates of hospital census and admissions, which will result in adjusted hospital numbers on the Austin-Travis County COVID-19 dashboards between Oct. 9-21.

Health district officials added the data corrections will affect the seven-day moving average of new hospital admissions and total hospitalizations. Coronavirus data can be seen at the Austin-Travis County COVID-19 dashboard. Austin Public Health officials added that the updated numbers would be provided to the UT Modeling Consortium for assistance in securing a more accurate indicator of the spread of COVID-19 in Austin-Travis County.

For more details, visit the COVID-19 Information portal within the City of Austin website.

This article originally appeared on the Austin Patch