AUSTIN (KXAN) — Of the more than 100,000 people who were in and out of the 2022 South by Southwest Conference & Festivals, roughly 100 COVID-19 cases have been traced to the event, according to Dr. Desmar Walkes, the Austin-Travis County health authority.
Walkes said those numbers showed "mitigation efforts were successful."
Walkes also presented data from food establishments and bars in the Austin area which showed a spike in cases in January, at the height of the omicron surge. Additional data also noted a decline in cases in local businesses paralleled declining case numbers as the omicron surge subsided. That downward movement did not appear to be impacted by SXSW, officials said.
On Monday, there were less than 100 new COVID-19 cases reported and no additional deaths in the Austin area.
The health authority also announced Tuesday morning, after the conclusion of SXSW and other spring break events, that Austin Public Health is ditching its current COVID-19 risk-based guidelines system and aligning itself with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) model instead.
Travis County is currently in the low-risk category, under that new model, which does not recommend masking for anyone.
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