RECORD
RECORD NUMBERS OF COVID-19 CASES HAVE BEEN POPPING UP IN TEXAS-- AND
NATIONWIDE.
THE KVUE DEFENDERS INVESTIGATED
THE SPREAD OF
THE VIRUS IN AUSTIN. TO FIND OUT
WHERE YOU'RE
MOST LIKELY TO GET IT.
HERE'S INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER
BRAD STREICHER.
BRAD STREICHER. WE ANALYZED MONTHS OF REPORTS
FROM AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH. LOOKING AT WHERE WE'VE
SEEN THE MOST
CASES AND CLUSTERS OF COVID-19
LOCALLY.
BUT ADVOCATES FOR SOME OF THE
INDUSTRIES TOPPING THAT
LIST QUESTION WHETHER WE CAN
TRUST THE CITY'S DATA.
NATS: TRANSITION
RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION
"I WOULD ARGUE STRONGLY THAT
RESTAURANTS
ARE. A SAFE OPTION."
KELSEY ERICKSON FROM THE TEXAS
RESTAURANT
ASSOCIATION SAYS HEALTH EXPERTS
AND CUSTOMERS
HAVE UNFAIRLY LABELED
RESTAURANTS AS UNSAFE
DURING THE PANDEMIC.
NATS: TRANSITION
"WE'RE EIGHT MONTHS INTO THIS
CRISIS AND I HAVE YET TO
SEE ANY DATA THAT REALLY POINTS
TO RESTAURANTS
AS A SIGNIFICANT SOURCE OF
SPREAD."
WE LOOKED AT DATA FROM AUSTIN
PUBLIC HEALTH. WHICH
SAYS OTHERWISE.
NATS: TRANSITION
EATING AND DRINKING PLACES, LIKE
RESTAURANTS,
HAVE HAD THE SECOND-MOST AMOUNT
OF COVID-19
CLUSTERS IN AUSTIN BETWEEN MAY
21 AND
OCTOBER 16. BUT GENERAL
CONTRACTORS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY HAVE
REPORTED EVEN MORE
CLUSTERS. WORKERS DEFENSE
PROJECT CO-
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR EMILY TIMM
SAYS SHE ISN'T SURPRISED
BY WHAT WE FOUND.
DEFENSE PROJECT
"CONSTRUCTION WORKERS ARE NOT
ONLY EXPOSED TO
THE REGULAR DANGERS OF
CONSTRUCTION, BUT THEN NOW
ARE AT GREATER RISK FOR BECOMING
SICK OR INFECTED
AND EXPOSED TO COVID-19 ON THEIR
WORK SITES."
RESEARCHERS FROM THE UNIVERSITY
OF TEXAS ALSO
RECENTLY PUBLISHED A REPORT.
FINDING
CONSTRUCTION WORKERS ARE FOUR TO
FIVE TIMES MORE
LIKELY TO BE HOSPITALIZED
BECAUSE OF COVID-19 THAN
OTHER WORKERS. DR. SPENCER FOX
IS THE ASSOCIATE
DIRECTOR OF THE TEAM BEHIND THE
STUDY.
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
"WE FLAGGED IT AS A HIGH RISK
ACTIVITY FROM THE START. AND,
YOU KNOW, THE FACT THAT THAT HAS
COME TO FRUITION IS SAD
BECAUSE WE ALSO KNOW THAT WITH
PROPER
PRECAUTIONS, YOU CAN MITIGATE
QUITE A BIT OF THE
RISK."
CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS ALSO
MAKE THE TOP 10 LIST OF
INDUSTRIES WITH THE MOST
COVID-19 CLUSTERS IN
AUSTIN. APH REPORTS AT LEAST 12
CLUSTERS. AND AT LEAST 41 CASES.
MARY GALLOW IS THE DIRECTOR OF
MEDICAL SERVICES FOR THE TRAVIS
COUNTY
SHERIFF'S OFFICE.
SHERIFF'S OFFICE
"PLACES WHERE YOU'RE GOING TO
HAVE GROUPS OF
PEOPLE BASICALLY LIVING
TOGETHER, ARE
GOING TO POP UP AS HAVING
CLUSTERS AND THAT BECAUSE
THAT'S WHAT WE WOULD EXPECT FROM
A VIRUS."
THE TRAVIS COUNTY JAIL ISN'T THE
ONLY CORRECTIONAL
INSTITUTION IN AUSTIN. BUT LIKE
RESTAURANT INDUSTRY
LEADERS, JAIL OFFICIALS ALSO
QUESTION HOW RELIABLE THE
DATA IS FROM AUSTIN PUBLIC
HEALTH. THEY SAY CLUSTERS
ARE LOOSELY DEFINED. AND
BUSINESS CATEGORIES
ARE BROAD.
"IT'S IMPORTANT TO GET THOSE
NUMBERS AND TO DIG IN AND
FIND OUT WHAT'S REALLY GOING ON
SO THAT WE CAN DO
THE BEST WE CAN TO MITIGATE ANY
FURTHER OUTBREAKS."
WE BROUGHT THOSE CONCERNS TO
AUSTIN PUBLIC
HEALTH'S CHIEF EPIDEMIOLOGIST .
JANET PICHETTE.
HEALTH CHIEF EPIDEMIOLOGIST
"THERE PROBABLY ARE A LOT MORE
CLUSTERS THAN
WE ARE ABLE TO IDENTIFY. AND
PART OF THE REASON IS THAT
PEOPLE HAVE NOT BEEN WILLING TO
SHARE
INFORMATION WITH US."
WITH MANY RESTAURANTS STILL
EMPTY INSIDE.
PICHETTE SAYS PEOPLE CAN STILL
USE THE DATA RELEASED
BY APH AS A GUIDELINE FOR MAKING
SMART DECISIONS
ABOUT HOW TO AVOID COVID-19.
BUSINESSES LIKE
RESTAURANTS OR CONSTRUCTION
SITES HAVE
SEEN THE MOST CLUSTERS AND CASES
OF THE VIRUS BECAUSE
THERE ARE MORE IN- PERSON
INTERACTIONS
IN THOSE INDUSTRIES. BUT SHE
ADMITS MOST OF THE
CLUSTERS DON'T NECESSARILY COME
FROM BUSINESSES.
"A LOT OF OUR CLUSTERS THAT YOU
DON'T SEE ON THE
CLUSTER REPORT BECAUSE THEY'RE
NOT
OCCUPATIONALLY RELATED, MAY BE
RELATED TO EXPOSURES
FROM THESE GATHERINGS, PEOPLE
HOSTING
PARTIES, PARTICIPATING IN
HALLOWEEN PARTIES OR
OTHER TYPES OF PARTIES, BABY
SHOWERS AND WEDDINGS AND
THOSE TYPES OF THINGS."
WHILE AUSTIN WATCHES THE
COVID-19 CASE COUNT RISE
DAY-TO-DAY. PICHETTE HOPES THE
COMMUNITY
OFFERS MORE INFORMATION TO
HEALTH OFFICIALS IF
THEY TEST POSITIVE FOR THE
VIRUS. SHE SAYS THAT WILL
IMPROVE THE RELIABILITY OF THE
CITY'S DATA. WITH
RESTAURANTS STILL TRYING TO GET
BACK ON THEIR FEET,
MORE ACCURATE INFORMATION IS
SOMETHING THEY ALSO HOPE
FOR. IN THE MEANTIME, THEY HOPE
DATA SHOWING
MULTIPLE COVID-19 CASES AND
CLUSTERS AT THOSE
FACILITIES DOESN'T DETER
CUSTOMERS.
"WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THE
THOUSANDS OF
RESTAURANTS ACROSS OUR CITY.
THEY'RE ONE OF THE
LARGEST EMPLOYERS, ONE OF THE
LARGEST
INDUSTRY SEGMENTS. SO TO HAVE
NUMBERS THAT
LOW, PARTICULARLY WHEN I'M NOT
CONVINCED
WE'RE EVEN GETTING THE WHOLE
PICTURE. THAT'S PRETTY
IMPRESSIVE, I THINK."
R
AGAIN, CLUSTERS THAT POP UP FROM
PRIVATE SOCIAL
GATHERINGS WERE NOT INCLUDED IN
THAT DATA.
CITY OFFICIALS, DOCTORS AND
RESEARCHERS HAVE ALL
WARNED THOSE GATHERINGS ARE ONE
OF THE WORST WAYS
THE VIRUS IS SPREADING RIGHT
NOW.
THAT'S SOMETHING HEALTH EXPERTS
ARE
ESPECIALLY WORRIED ABOUT AS WE
ENTER THE HOLIDAY
SEASON.
IN AUSTIN, FOR THE KVUE
DEFENDERS, I'M BRAD
STREICHER.
STREICHER.
IN
IN AUSTIN, FOR THE KVUE DEFENDERS, I'M BRAD STREICHER.
STREICHER.