Austin-Travis County Moves Back To Stage 4 COVID-19 Guidelines

Austin TX

28 September, 2021

10:59 AM

Description

AUSTIN, TX — As hospitalizations continue to drop, Austin-Travis County officials have made the move to Stage 4 in its COVID-19 guidance on Tuesday. Austin-Travis County Health Authority Dr. Desmar Walkes announced Austin Public Health is moving into Stage 4 of its risk-based guidance. Under this stage, fully vaccinated people should wear a mask when participating in indoor gatherings, traveling, dining, shopping and should wear a mask for outdoor gatherings, if they are unable to social distance. Live in Austin? Click here to subscribe to our free breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox and mobile devices. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and download our free mobile app on Android or iPhone. Those who are partially or unvaccinated, should avoid gatherings, travel, dining and shopping unless essential. These individuals should wear a mask when conducting essential activities, according to APH's guidance. NEW: With hospitalizations falling, @AusPublicHealth is officially moving down to Stage 4 COVID recommendations. pic.twitter.com/JxeS6G0Fsv— Matt Largey (@mattlargey) September 28, 2021 While the number of those who require care in ICUs has dropped, Region O remains high in the seven-day moving averages of new COVID-19 cases, hospital admissions and positivity rates. As of Sunday, there were 414 lab-confirmed COVID-19 patients currently in the hospital in Region O, according to the Texas Dept. of State Health Services. Of those, 231 are adults in general beds, 171 are adults in the ICU and 12 are children in hospital beds. About 118 patients are on ventilators. About 631 staffed hospital beds, 17 staffed ICU beds and 4 staffed pediatric ICU beds remained available in the region on Sunday. This region covers 11 counties in Central Texas, including Travis and Williamson Counties, and serves more than 2.4 million people. In Austin-Travis County, about 390 are currently hospitalized in the Austin Metro for COVID-19. Of those, 162 are in the ICU and 108 are on ventilators as of Monday. "The Delta variant showed us how unpredictable and deadly this virus can be, especially for the unvaccinated," Walkes said. "However, even as we continue to see the data trending in a positive direction, we cannot act as if the pandemic is over. Our hospital and ICUs still remain at critical levels, and we need the public to continue to work together to ensure we do not contribute to a new surge."