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UT Austin experiencing spike in COVID cases, report says

UT reported 48 positive tests on Wednesday, the highest count of the semester, just days after likely omicron cases were identified on campus.

AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas is experiencing another concerning spike in COVID-19 cases.

According to a report by KVUE's news partners at the Austin American-Statesman, UT reported 48 positive test results among students on Wednesday – the highest count so far of the semester. And 30 student cases were reported on Tuesday. Throughout the entirety of last week, UT only reported 28 cases.

“Looking at the public facing UT-Austin dashboard, we do see a six to seven fold increase in test positivity (among students) this week compared to last week, and that's among those who come and test voluntarily,” Dr. Darlene Bhavnani, an epidemiologist and assistant professor in UT’s Department of Population Health, told the Statesman.

RELATED: Austin-Travis County reports 3 cases of COVID-19 omicron variant from UT community

The news comes just days after the university reported the first three likely cases of the omicron variant across Austin. Public health officials have suggested that this indicate the variant is already spreading through the community, as none of these three people had traveled internationally or were linked via contact tracing. 

  • To read the Statesman's full report, click here.
  • To view UT's COVID-19 dashboard, click here.
  • To view Austin-Travis County's COVID-19 dashboards, click here.

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