Friends,
There is a lot to keep up with these days, but I hope that you have been able to see the newly released UT study regarding the potential impacts of COVID-19 on our regional healthcare system. While it includes some grim statistics, the primary takeaway is: Stay Home and Save a Life.
It’s been determined that the social distancing we’ve been practicing thus far has reduced our interactions by 50%--which is a very good first step. In fact, the UT study projects that we will have adequate hospital capacity for another three weeks at that rate.
However, in order to prevent our local healthcare system from being overwhelmed at that point, the study suggests we need to continue reducing social interactions from our current 50% rate all the way to a 90% reduction--a heavy lift, but with the potential to save lives.
In fact, if we are able to decrease social interactions at the 90% level, it is projected that we can actually avert the deaths of 6,000 Austinites!
A true challenge.
Our community is about to embark on a difficult, but doable journey. This is going to be harder for some than others, and we - as policymakers and humans - need to make sure those who need extra care and resources are able to get them.
The study isn’t fate, but it represents likely projections from some of the smartest minds in our state and is based on assumptions that should be valid for at least the next three weeks. So, though it isn’t a prediction, it does give us a scale and framework to better understand this evolving crisis at the local level. And with time and more data, the model can be tweaked to continue to provide guidance in how we address this pandemic in order to protect our community’s health and ensure a safe return to work.
Because the more thoroughly we contain the spread, the faster we can rev up our economy.
We've got this.
As tough as it is, we can do this. We’ve already made great progress thanks to your efforts, and I know that, together, we can do even more.
Though my office, like many others, is physically shut down with staff working remotely, we are monitoring communications to our office and will respond as quickly as we can. Please let us know if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions.
And remember to ‘Stay Home and Save a Life.’
