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Hospital stays and cases of the coronavirus continue to rise in Austin and across the country. On Friday, Austin-Travis County returned to the stricter Phase 4 of Austin Public Health’s risk-based guidelines, the city’s health authorities said.
More: Austin-Travis County Moves to Level 4 of COVID Rules; Masks recommended
But what does the change from level 3 to level 4 actually do? Here’s a roundup of the city’s risk-based guidelines and what they mean for Austinites:
What are these phases about?
Back in May 2020, Austin Public Health introduced a five-tier system of guidelines designed to help residents understand the level of coronavirus risk to the community and offer guidelines they should follow to avoid spreading or spreading the disease. The numbers are rising to indicate a more dangerous stage of the pandemic and trigger more restrictions accordingly, with level 1 being the safest and level 5 being the riskiest.
What is the difference between level 3 and level 4?
Levels 1, 2, and 3 look almost identical in their instructions on how to wear masks, with level 3 individuals who are at high risk and who are not vaccinated avoiding all gatherings, dining, shopping, and travel – both indoors and outdoors should unless absolutely necessary.
This changes in level 4. In contrast to levels 1, 2 and 3, vaccinated people are advised to put on masks for private gatherings, meals and shopping in level 4. Unvaccinated individuals are advised to avoid these activities altogether unless absolutely necessary.
What about company? Level 4 business owners can still choose whether or not to require their customers to wear masks. Dr. Austin-Travis County’s health department Desmar Walkes said Friday that it had no immediate plans to try to reinstate the previous mask mandate that required companies to have a mask wear policy.
What triggered the change from level 3 to level 4?
Austin-Travis County only officially reschedules the stadiums if public health officials say so, but the city has set certain thresholds that suggest it may be time to reschedule. The main indicator is the seven-day average for new daily hospital admissions, but the city also takes into account the seven-day moving average of hospital admissions, number of ICU patients, ventilation use, positivity rate, and the seven-day shift average of cases.
A move from Level 3 to Level 4 is recommended when the city hits a 7-day moving average for new daily hospital admissions of 30. Austin hit 35 Thursday night, its highest level since late February, prompting officials to officially move the city from Level 3 to Level 4.
The city also took into account the daily average for new confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, for the past week before signaling level 4. On Thursday the average was 148, the highest value since the beginning of March.
Do COVID-19 restrictions apply to people who have been vaccinated?
Yes – the guidelines for vaccinated and unvaccinated people are just different.
Unvaccinated people should wear masks during all five phases. Vaccinated people can go without their masks at levels 1 to 3 unless they are traveling. At levels 4 and 5, unvaccinated individuals should avoid all non-essential gatherings and outings, while vaccinated individuals can attend them as long as they are masked.
What about herd immunity?
Austin public health officials say between 70 and 90% of all eligible (currently 12 year olds and older) residents of Austin and Travis Counties must be fully vaccinated to achieve herd immunity. As of Wednesday, 53% of Travis County’s residents of all ages and 62% of Travis County’s 12 and older were fully vaccinated, according to data from the Texas Department of State Health Services.
Herd immunity occurs when enough people in a community are protected from disease because they have already had the disease or have been vaccinated. It’s important because it protects even those who can’t be vaccinated, such as young children.
Note: This story has been updated to clarify that, according to Austin Public Health, herd immunity is achieved when 70 to 90% of people eligible for vaccination (currently residents 12 years and older) have done so. An earlier version of this story described herd immunity in relation to the total population of Travis County.
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