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AUSTIN, Texas – Austin and Travis County public health officials on Thursday raised their risk-based guidelines for coronavirus to Level 3 for the first time since the winter surge, urging unvaccinated individuals to avoid unnecessary travel and take other precautions after getting one We have seen a “dramatic” increase in new Covid-19 cases and hospital admissions in the past few days.
ABC subsidiary KVUE reported that officials are concerned after confirming four cases of the dangerous and highly transmissible Delta variant of the virus, which 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, referring to the “dramatic increase in Covid cases that is.” we’ve seen in the past few days “.
He added, “I hate that we are here again at a press conference to talk about the virus. I was hoping I wouldn’t talk to you about an increase in Covid cases again. ”
According to Dr. Desmar Walkes, Austin-Travis County’s health department, has tripled the seven-day average for new cases from 30 to nearly 90. The seven-day average for hospital admissions increased from 7 to 20-21.
“This has to stop,” said Walkes.
But the city and county move to Level 3 guidelines has no legal impact as Texas 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 mask requirements were lifted, business restrictions lifted, and major events resumed in the spring and summer as Covid-19 cases and hospital stays dropped.
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 and Travis County 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-district policy does not currently contain recommendations for companies that have been exposed to capacity and in-house service restrictions throughout the pandemic. They are no longer mandated since Abbott lifted them nationwide in March.
Adler told the Texas Tribune in an interview 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 other alarming trends that Austin and Travis County’s health officials cited on Thursday: The number of cases of Covid-19 in children is rising and 20% of the 100+ people with Covid-19 in the area’s hospitals 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. Walkes. 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.
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