Headlines / Quote of the Week
Fri., Aug. 28, 2020
Breathing Easier ... On Tuesday, Aug. 25, Austin dropped to Stage 3 of Austin Public Health's COVID-19 Risk-Based Guidelines for the first time since mid-June. Officials based the decision on key indicators such as new hospital admissions and positivity rate trending "in the right direction" but urged the community to continue taking safety precautions, including good hygiene, social distancing, and wearing face coverings.
But Don't Get Too Comfortable: COVID-19 has become the fourth leading cause of death in Travis County, overtaking strokes (no. 5) but still trailing cancer (no. 1), heart disease (no. 2), and accidents (no. 3), according to local health officials. As of press time, 366 people in Travis County have died from COVID-19 since March.
Back to School ... for Now A slew of Central Texas colleges kicked off in-person classes this week for the first time since the pandemic began, including Texas State University, St. Edward's University, Austin Community College, and UT-Austin. Huston-Tillotson University is the only local university to have opted for a fully online fall semester.
Stay Sober or Stay Off the Road: The Austin Police Department is getting a jump on Labor Day drunk driving stops with a DWI initiative running nightly, 9pm-5am, effective now through Sept. 7, with the stated goal of "encouraging drivers to make responsible decisions and to have personnel available to take enforcement action if required."
Give What You Can: Today (Aug. 27) the city kicks off its first-ever Week of Action to Support Ending Homelessness, a seven-day campaign empowering community members to take actions to help our fellow Austinites in need. See how you can get involved at www.austintexas.gov/homelessness-get-involved.
Seeking Shelter ... Austin-area shelters hit capacity early Wednesday morning as thousands of people evacuated the Gulf Coast area ahead of Hurricane Laura. Hours later, the Circuit of the Americas, which is being utilized as an intake facility for evacuees before they're placed in local hotels, reopened as a "rest area" for evacuees to wait to see when more hotel rooms become available. Call 211 for assistance in identifying the next closest sheltering location; text "ATXShelter" to 888-777 for updates or call 512/978-1510.
Just Be Nice, Dammit: In light of assaults on Austin Parks and Recreation Department park rangers and park monitors, Austin and Travis County are urging parkgoers to "spread kindness, not COVID." Since March, city park rangers and monitors have been verbally or physically assaulted on at least six different occasions while carrying out health and safety measures, according to an Austin-Travis County joint press release.
Quote of the Week
“This is not the time for us to celebrate.”
– Austin Public Health Director Stephanie Hayden urging Austinites to not get “overly excited” over moving down to Stage 3 (see above)
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