As expected, Austin and Travis County extended their COVID-19 orders last Friday, on the eve of their August 15 expiration. The new orders run through December 15.
Travis County Judge Sam Biscoe extended the county’s order requiring face masks and banning gatherings of more than 10 people. There are some exceptions to the latter, such as church services and recreational sports programs, that are allowed under Gov. Greg Abbott‘s statewide COVID-19 orders. Face coverings are required while inside public buildings, as well as outside when social distancing is not possible.
Biscoe’s order also extends a local disaster declaration and public health emergency for Travis County; as the order notes, Austin Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott expects the number of infections to rise if health and safety protocols are lifted. Friday’s order includes the same penalties authorized by Biscoe in July: fines of up to $1,000 for gatherings and up to $250 for not wearing masks.
A few hours after Travis County’s announcement, the city extended its similar order, called “Stay Home, Mask, and Otherwise Be Safe.” The new order continues to require Austinites wear face coverings, practice social distancing, and limit gatherings with people living outside their household, while modifying nursing home standards in compliance with new state guidance that permits some visitation.
With Austin ISD set to begin classes on Sept. 8, the city directive also stipulates that pre-K and K-12 schools must phase in on-campus learning based on community risk – unless such actions will result in loss of Texas Education Agency funding. The risk tiers range from stage 1 (little or no COVID-19 community spread, 100% on-campus instruction) to stage 5 (100% virtual learning amid “widespread uncontrolled transmission threatening our healthcare infrastructure”).
These guidelines are among many released by Austin Public Health last Friday in its new emergency rules and guidance on school reopenings. The 50-page document also includes a call to screen bus operators and students before boarding, but Escott emphasized the phased reopening in his COVID-19 update to Travis County commissioners earlier this week: “Regardless of where we are in staging on September 8, we are recommending that schools only open at 25% for the first two weeks,” he said, “so that the schools, the teachers, the students can get used to a new system; they can work out any kinks in the processes and can make changes and adaptations before introducing dditional students.”
Local health authorities have stressed that taking action before school starts will minimize the risk of community spread. As Escott explained Tuesday, this means more extensive testing – including for those without symptoms – for the next three weeks. “We are trying to increase our testing so that we can capture more of those positive cases, even the asymptomatic ones, and push that positivity rate lower and lower before September 8.” Austin-Travis County’s most recent positivity rate was 8.8%; Escott said the goal is to get it below 5%.
This article appears in August 21 • 2020.