Austin, Texas – Wednesday, Dec. 23, the City of Austin and Travis County released orders related to the move to Stage 5 of the COVID-19 risk-based guidelines.
This is the first time since the beginning of the pandemic that Austin-Travis County has moved to Stage 5, the highest stage.
This change was made today based on a rapid increase in hospital admissions, cases, and test positivity rates across the community.
Other key indicators for stage changes include the number of patients in the ICU, ventilator usage, and the 7-day moving average of cases, are all trending upward.
“We are entering a dangerous time,” said Travis County Judge Andy Brown. “If our community does its part and follows the Stage 5 recommendations being presented Wednesday, we can stop the spread of COVID-19 and the necessity for more restrictive measures.”
Information about today’s move to Stage 5 can be found here: austintexas.gov/news/austin-public-health-increases-covid-19-risk-stage-5-highest-level.
As a result of the move to Stage 5, the City of Austin and Travis County have released updated sets of orders. They can be viewed on the COVID-19 Rules and Orders page under “Current Orders.”
The City of Austin orders supplement the “Stay Home, Mask, and Otherwise Be Safe” City orders that were updated on Dec. 15. The orders took at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 23, 2020, and will be in effect until Jan. 11, 2021.
The Travis County orders supplement the “Stay Home, Mask, and Otherwise Be Safe” County orders that were updated on Dec. 15. The orders took effect at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 23, 2020, and will be in effect until Jan. 11, 2021.
The orders do not constitute a change in regulations for the City of Austin, but instead serve to highlight strong recommendations that Austin Public Health, the City of Austin, and Travis County encourage individuals, businesses, and organizations to take.
The orders contain recommendations for individuals about staying home, utilizing low-contact or contactless dining and retail options.
They also contain recommendations on actions for restaurants, retail stores, and schools.
The orders also note that a failure to implement these recommendations may result in more stringent measures to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
“We are in Stage 5 – but there is a light on the horizon,” said Austin Mayor Steve Adler, “The vaccine – the miracle we have been waiting for – has arrived in Austin. Please stay with us for the last leg of this race. We have the power to impact whether or not our hospitals are overrun and how many neighbors face serious illness or death over the holidays. It’s up to us – it always has been.”
For more information about COVID-19, visit AustinTexas.gov/COVID19.
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Oh! Thank you Mayor Adele’s! The miracle we have been waiting for, the vaccine that uses you as the test person. This is mainly based off of PCR test which give plenty of false positives. Wake up people. There’s a reason it’s called the scamdemic!
This is brilliant! Written by a restaurant owner:
As I walk into the grocery store with 30 other people at the same time, I think about my restaurant which allows parties of 6 total, and meticulously spaces out reservations by 10 minutes ensuring guests that aren’t from the same party do not arrive at the same time.
As I take a cart, that has had just the handle sanitized, I think about my restaurant which invested thousands of dollars (so far) on ink and paper to print disposable menus to ensure no two guests touch the same menu.
As I walk over to the produce aisle with 15-20 other people around me, I’m reminded of the strict “no mingling / no walking around the restaurant other than to use the washroom or enter/exit” policy we have in place and the 6ft distance between tables which has cut our capacity in half.
As I watch the woman next to me pick up apples with her hand, check them over closely and then put them back on the open pile and repeats this until she finds the perfect apples — the same thing that all other people that day who want an apple will then do and then put those apples into their mouths, I think about the two step sanitation process in place at my restaurant for all cutlery and dishes and glassware in between every single guest, and the sanitation of every surface guests touch (tables, chairs, salt and pepper shakers, etc).
As I watch the man in the next aisle over ignore or not notice the directional arrows on the ground, I think about my restaurant and the constant redirecting our staff does of guests - by locking certain doors, blocking areas off and the work my team does to simply not allow guests to walk where they are not supposed to.
As I walk down the cereal aisle, I see a person with their mask off so they can talk on the phone, and I’m reminded of my restaurant where our masking policy has lost us so much business.
As I check out at the cashier, I use my debit card to pay and see the plastic film covering the terminal. It was not sanitized after the person before me used it. I am reminded of the sanitizer used on the debit terminals in between each guest every time at my restaurant.
As I stand at a crowded exit trying to leave, I’m reminded of the detailed contact tracing in place at my restaurant that records the name, phone number, table number, arrival and exit time, as well as the server and section the guest sat in that is in place at my restaurant— not one of those pieces of information was taken from any customer here.
As I get into my car and watch all these people leave the store, I wonder which person will visit my establishment after contracting covid at this grocery store, and I wonder why on earth my restaurant will be blamed as the source.
Restaurants are being targeted as the “source” of Covid infections because we are one of the ONLY industries required to provide contact tracing.
Someone with Covid could have gone to Costco, Home Depot, Walmart, the Mall food court....any grocery store, etc. Yet it’s the restaurant that took their detailed information that will be forced to close and deemed responsible for the infection.
You want to blame restaurants for the spread after thousands of dollars investing in equipment, training and stricter policies than ANYWHERE ELSE?!
PROVE ?? IT ??
#saverestaurants
I'm confused. I see conflicting verbiage. How am I supposed to reconcile these words?
"The orders do not constitute a change in regulations for the City of Austin, but instead serve to highlight strong recommendations that Austin Public Health, the City of Austin, and Travis County encourage individuals, businesses, and organizations to take." -- That's "Order" vs "no change" + " recommendations" + "encourage"
Nothing they have said is actually enforceable. Its all voluntary. STOP PLAYING THE GAME!
Is this coming from the same Jack-Wagon that told everyone to "Stay Home-Stay Safe" while in Cabo for his daughters wedding?
Thomas Henry nailed it! Can you work up a bit about seeing someone at the store with a "mask on" but is not covering their nose?
I am truly sorry for what your establishment has endured and will continue to endure. You and our small businesses are the backbone of the culture and commerce in our community.
Thank you for your robust, vivid comment. I wonder how much action the small business have seen from the City of San Marcos? Or, the County government?
Can you also whip up a comment about the City of San Marcos contractors banking (Ive never seen contractors so chipper) on Hunter Road who are refusing to wear masks? I know the city management is refusing to enforce this, because hello I email them about it on more than one occasion. And, it is happening all over town, even the high rise projects. Another inconsistency?
The city management lied during a live broadcast on the number of city workers who had contracted COVID, it was not until I provided my open records data that they came clean. Then, poof they suddenly began to include this data in their report out at the top of each meeting. I wonder if city staff are getting COVID from interacting with contractors refusing to wear masks?
We have a city manager who comes into the office ONE time a month over a period of MONTHS {not just a few months or a couple of months, but MONTHS) (per my open records) and yet he sure expects other city staff to show up to work. Its the inconsistency that is troublesome. I'm still trying to ascertain how many street sweepers were together in that cab earlier this week (as they consistently roll down together without masks until my emails) “sweeping” the historic district the other day. Recall allegedly the city is shutting down post Christmas to avoid a spike in pandemic numbers. I'm sure upper management were home nice and snug.
And, your comments demonstrate the impact that small businesses are enduring in a non disputable way how commerce is being treated differently during this pandemic. I'm sure the home improvement stores are proverbially 'banking" right now.
The Democrats would rather pay for gender studies in Pakistan than keep YOUR business open. Its diabolical decision making.
The one about the apple - Nailed it! I have not been to HEB since March precisely for this reason.
Again, I am very sorry this is happening to your business and many of my friends who are also entrepreneurs in town. It's tragic, it's devastating and the difference in treatment is downright unfair and heart wrenching.
I was in Austin today and while we were there we stopped by Kublai Khan Mongolian Grill. It was pretty good. The kids seemed to enjoy it a lot. But as we were leaving, I turned around and way that Austin had chosen to deploy its gestapo.
The health department rolled in and sat down. He was not at any specific seat. He did not appear to be ordering anything. He was just watching.
Here we have a small business providing an essential service to my family. They are just trying to make ends meet. There were only 2 other parties. The business had taken precautions and everyone's temperatures were taken upon entry. Yet, the businesses are being harassed.
This is shameful. -- STOP PLAYING THE GAME!
Well of course Mr. Holeman, he loves the power and is jealous of an entrepreneur. I wonder what his tip looked like? Meanwhile the democrats zealously believe that struggling Americans only deserve $600.00 otherwise its "welfare" the same party that likes to doll out welfare like Pez candy. Meanwhile people are rolling up their sleeve for a vaccination like cattle. Le sigh. As a national election gets stolen on camera with briefcases and the media attacks our Great President. Its akin to leaflet drops in the wars of days past. Except this time the propaganda is via social media censorship, news media official lies and local government thugs still getting a fat pay checks. Wake up America. Wake up San Marcos. When will our elected officials actually show up to work? They are collecting paychecks and heath insurance. Good thing two of the newly elected officials are pro-chambers. The others are still speaking pig Latin like the retro Zoom via chatting and other questionable behavior. Happy Brave New World America.
Mr. Holeman, I think you got it wrong. I am quite sure he was gathering data on gender for a study to send to Pakistan. yeah, that's the ticket.....