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Under Level 4, Austin Public Health recommends everyone wear a mask, even if they are fully vaccinated. Austin passed level 4 of the level on Monday.
AUSTIN, Texas – Austin-Travis County is moving into Phase 4 of its risk-based COVID-19 guidelines. The city passed level 4 of the level earlier this week.
Austin-Travis County Health Department, Dr. Desmar Walkes, announced the gradual change at a news conference with Austin Public Health (APH) on Friday.
Below level 4, APH recommends everyone wear a mask, even if they are fully vaccinated. Fully vaccinated individuals should wear a mask when attending private indoor gatherings, travel and dining, or shopping, and wear a mask for outdoor gatherings if they are not socially distant. Partially vaccinated or unvaccinated individuals should avoid private gatherings, travel, dining, and shopping unless strictly necessary, and wear a mask when performing essential activities.
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Level 4 guidelines are recommendations, not mandates. According to Governor Greg Abbott’s recent ordinance, the state of Texas does not require masks, although companies and other entities may require employees or customers to wear masks.
“Whether we can enforce this or not, we will not be able to enforce it,” said Walkes on Friday.
On Tuesday, Austin Public Health said the move to Stage 4 is “imminent” due to an increase in cases and the spread of the Delta variant. It started with recommending everyone, regardless of vaccination status, to wear a mask indoors.
The primary indicator the county is tracking to determine whether to move into a new phase is new hospital admissions. They also look at the 7-day moving averages for new cases, the county positivity rate, the doubling time of new cases, and current ICU and ventilation patients.
APH said on Friday that these indicators have risen over the past three weeks:
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The 7-day moving average of hospital admissions since July 4 has increased over 203% from 63 to 202 hospital admissions on July 22.
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The positivity rate, the number of people who tested positive in a given week, tripled from 3.2% to 9.6%.
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COVID-19 patients in local intensive care units rose nearly 242% from 24 people on July 4 to 82 people on July 22.
On July 22, the 7-day moving average for new admissions is 34. The 7-day moving average for new cases is 148.
For level 4, the 7-day moving average for new hospital admissions must be between 30 and 50-90, depending on the “rate of increase,” according to the APH website.
As of Friday, APH had only confirmed four cases of the Delta variant in Travis County. Walkes said the Delta variant was “heavier and more deadly”.
“I hate our hospitals filling up again,” Austin Mayor Steve Adler said in a press release. “We wanted so badly for this to be over. But we have to dig deep once again to protect our intensive care units and our exhausted doctors and nurses and stop this Delta variant. Please take the shot. After vaccination, wearing a mask indoors is the least intrusive and effective measure we can and must do to prevent further spread. If I could order all children and teachers to mask themselves without going to court, I would do it in no time. “
“These alarming numbers officially bring us to phase 4,” says Walkes.
BREAKING: Austin-Travis County is now in phase 4. Walkes urges people to mask themselves and, if not or only partially vaccinated, avoid non-essential gatherings. @KVUE
– Molly Oak (@MollyAndAMic) July 23, 2021
Walkes said the increase in children being hospitalized for COVID-19 is particularly worrying. She also said earlier this week that “there is a reluctance to vaccinate in our color communities”. She said this was due to longstanding trust issues with vaccines.
APH recommends children under the age of 12 wear a mask to school at the start of the 2021-22 school year until a vaccine is approved for their age.
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