Austin Public Health

Austin-Travis County health officials have scaled back their Covid-19 risk-based guidelines to Stage 4 as cases and hospitalizations have steadily decreased. Dr. Desmar Walkes, Austin-Travis County health authority, credits mitigation efforts such as masking and vaccinations for the improvements. “The behaviors that have been undertaken by our community to get our numbers of cases down have been […]

The rolling average for new daily Covid-19-related hospital admissions has been on the decline for more than three weeks. Still, with an average of 57 admissions as of Tuesday, Austin-Travis County remains at the highest level of Austin Public Health’s community risk guidelines. Resources for the area’s hospital system also remain strained. More than 200 […]

Lea esta nota en español New coronavirus cases in the Austin area have increased this week as students, teachers and staff head back to in-person classes. The city’s medical director, Dr. Desmar Walkes, told a joint meeting of Travis County commissioners and Austin City Council members that the surge was expected given the varying mask […]

When Austin-area hospitals began admitting about 100 new Covid patients a day last January, the city of Austin did something it hoped it would never have to: It set up hospital beds in the convention center, transforming the conference space into a field hospital. “I want to be very clear: Our hope is that we never see […]

Lea esta nota en español Austin and Travis County have moved into Stage 5, the highest level of risk in the local health department’s Covid-19 guidelines. Dr. Desmar Walkes, Austin-Travis County Health Authority, said during a news conference Thursday that this is the fastest Covid-19 surge in the pandemic so far. Patients in intensive care units […]

The Travis County Commissioners Court and Austin City Council members will convene a special called meeting today amid growing concerns about the highly infectious Covid-19 Delta variant and a shortage of ICU beds. On Monday, Austin Public Health reported that Austin’s Trauma Service Area, which serves more than 2.3 million people, had just 10 staffed […]

Austin Public Health is recommending everyone – including those who are vaccinated – wear a face covering indoors as Covid-19 cases continue rising in Austin and Travis County. Local Health Authority Dr. Desmar Walkes told a joint session of Travis County commissioners and Austin City Council members on Tuesday that hospitalizations are up among all […]

Lea esta nota en español Austin-Travis County returned to stage 3 of the Covid-19 risk-based guidelines Thursday. The change was made after the detection of four cases of the more infectious Delta variant and recent increases in new Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations. The more restrictive stage 3 guidelines call for people who are immunocompromised or […]

More than three quarters of people age 65 and older in Austin-Travis County are fully vaccinated, public health officials said Tuesday. For the entire eligible population – that’s people 12 years and older – the number is more than 54 percent. The area remains in stage 2 of Austin Public Health’s risk-based guidelines, and the […]

The Covid-19 positivity rate in Austin and Travis County continues to fall as more people in the area are inoculated against the virus. Dr. Jason Pickett, deputy medical director for the city, said positivity rates for people of all races in the area are down below 5 percent for the first time in the pandemic, […]