Due to improving key health metrics in the area, the City of Austin recently announced that it has returned to Stage 4 of the Risk-Based Guidelines.
According to a news release from the city, on Sept. 28, the City of Austin Council and Travis County Commissioners held a joint session and Dr. Desmar Walkes of the Austin-Travis County Health Authority announced Austin Public Health (APH) is moving back down into Stage 4 of the risk-based guidelines. The decision was based on the seven-day moving averages of new COVID-19 cases, hospital admissions and positivity rates that are dropping in the Austin-Travis County metropolitan area. ICU figures, however, remain high.
"Today, Austin is moving back to Stage 4 of our risk-based guidelines. Our efforts to mask and vaccinate are working to fight the virus," Austin Mayor Steve Adler wrote in a Sept. 28 Twitter post. "However, our hospitals and emergency services are still stressed. Please continue to take precautions."
The risk-based guidelines are not adjustments to Austin-Travis County rules or regulations for businesses, they are guidelines and recommendations for individual actions and behaviors based on levels of risk of exposure in the community. The guidelines correlate with five distinct stages of risk for the Austin-Travis County area.
According to KXAN News, Dr. Desmar Walkes, the local health authority, attributes the drop in cases to "behaviors that have been undertaken by our community."
Under Stage 4, fully vaccinated individuals can participate in indoor or outdoor private gatherings, dine or shop and travel with precautions. However, partially or non-vaccinated individuals must adhere to stricter guidelines.
Stage 4 recommendations include the following: fully vaccinated individuals should wear a mask when participating in indoor gatherings, traveling, and dining or shopping, and should wear a mask for outdoor gatherings, if they are unable to socially distance; partially or unvaccinated individuals should avoid gatherings, travel, dining and shopping unless essential; individuals should wear a mask when conducting essential activities.
The area had actually been within the threshold for Stage 4 for about a week, but APH officials decided that they were postponing the move to Stage 4 until they had more proof that the trend of decreasing local COVID-19 metrics would continue, according to KVUE News.
"The delta variant showed us how unpredictable and deadly this virus can be, especially for the unvaccinated," Walkes said at the hearing, according to KVUE News. "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."
The Texas Department of State Health Services reports that as of Sept. 27, Travis County has vaccinated approximately 70.67% of eligible residents.