Austin brings back COVID-19 protocols after cases surge

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The city of Austin and public health officials on Thursday raised the city’s risk-based guidelines for coronavirus for the first time since the winter surge, urging unvaccinated people to avoid unnecessary travel and take other precautions after a dramatic rise in new COVID-19 Cases and hospitalizations has been noted in the past few days.

Officials blamed at least part of the blame on the dangerous and highly communicable Delta variant of the virus, which has recently contributed to similar spikes in more populous areas across Texas.

“We can’t pretend we’re through with a virus that isn’t through with us,” Austin Mayor Steve Adler said during a press conference Thursday.

But the city’s move to Level 3 policies has no legal weight as Governor Greg Abbott banned pandemic mandates in May. It also only applies to the city’s unvaccinated population; The guidelines recommend that vaccinated individuals should only take precautions when traveling.

The move marks the first time a major Texas city has reintroduced reinforced health protocols since the mask requirement was dropped, business restrictions lifted, and major events resumed in the spring and summer as COVID-19 cases and hospital stays collapsed.

Earlier this week, health officials in Williamson County, a suburb north of Austin, reported that their new case numbers and hospital admission rates – although still low – have doubled over the past week. The numbers prompted the district’s health department to officially increase the district’s COVID risk status to “high prevalence in the community”.

The Level 3 guidelines for Austin mean that unvaccinated or partially vaccinated residents should avoid gatherings, travel, shopping, and dining altogether unless the activities are essential and they should mask themselves when leaving their homes.

The city policy does not currently provide recommendations for businesses that have faced on and off capacity and in-house service constraints throughout the pandemic. They are no longer mandated since Abbott lifted them nationwide in March.

Adler told the Tribune in an interview Tuesday that he hasn’t ruled out the possibility of stronger moves by the city if those measures don’t reduce the numbers, even if they don’t have Abbott’s backing.

“[Abbott has] implied from the start that he would pursue the science and the data, and that’s all we’re trying to do here, ”Adler said. “We don’t like it and don’t want to deal with the governor. That means we have to do everything we can to keep our community as safe as possible. “

He did not say what else could be done to stem the rise.

“If the numbers don’t improve, there has to be some sort of future action, and there are many different forms that could take,” he said.

The city went to Level 5, the highest level of restrictions, in December – right before the pandemic’s deadliest spike to date. In mid-March, the city fell back to level 2 for the first time during the pandemic.

Among the alarming trends cited by Austin and Travis Counties Health officials on Thursday: The average number of new cases each day has tripled, hospital admissions for COVID-19 are increasing, cases of COVID-19 in children are increasing, and 20 % of cases involving more than 100 people with COVID-19 in hospitals in the region are on ventilators, while 41 are in intensive care. Austin has requested recruitment from the state to help local hospitals and intensive care units cope with rising patient numbers.

Almost all hospital patients are unvaccinated, said Dr. Desmar Walkes, Austin-Travis County Health Department. Officials urged residents to inject themselves if they haven’t already, saying vaccination is the best way to stop the virus from spreading.

“This has to stop and we know how to do that,” said Walkes. “We hope that this self-correction that we are making with the transition to level 3 status will help bring us back to a place where our cases are going back again.”

At least 60% of Austin’s residents are fully vaccinated, and Travis County, where Austin is located, has the third highest vaccination rate among the state’s urban counties, which is also reporting increasing cases and hospitalizations.

Austin’s announcement comes as life has returned to normal in pre-pandemic Texas in the past few weeks and months. Just this week, the Palmer Events Center in Austin announced it would be resuming its events, which in the past have included conventions and weekend events that draw tens of thousands of people.

Texas recently ended its pandemic relief program for the unemployed and school districts are banned from mandating masks in most circumstances.

Disclosure: Steve Adler, a former chairman of the board of directors of the Texas Tribune, was a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization funded in part by donations from members, foundations, and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the journalism of the Tribune. You can find a full list of them here.

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