Sections

About Us

 
Make a Donation
Local • Independent • Essential News
 

Tag Archives: Austin Public Health

Austin leaders encourage peer pressure to get folks to wear face masks and avoid crowding spaces

Austin and Travis County officials are urging people to wear face coverings and to avoid large gatherings as the city and the state reopen for business. If that refrain sounds familiar, it’s because you’ve heard the song and it bears…

Travis County bush

Travis County approves nursing home emergency staffing

People who live or work in nursing homes and senior living centers are some of the hardest hit by Covid-19. Austin Public Health has said both staff and residents are particularly vulnerable to the virus with 17 percent of the…

Commissioners Court discusses 'oscillation strategy' to exit quarantine

As the county’s May 8 end date for its stay-at-home order draws near, the Commissioners Court began to discuss the next steps in the battle to flatten the curve. “There is no return to ‘normal,’” County Judge Sarah Eckhardt said…

Austin health official expects city's face-covering guidance will become a requirement

The interim medical director and health authority for Austin-Travis County says he expects a recommendation for Austinites to wear fabric face coverings when they’re outside the home to become a requirement. Dr. Mark Escott said Monday that having people cover…

Austin Public Health is setting up two facilities to house nursing home residents with Covid-19

Austin Public Health announced Monday that its new nursing home task force is setting up sites to house nursing home residents who test positive for Covid-19. The city says these isolation facilities will give Covid-19 patients who don’t need hospitalization…

Updated: Austin closes bars, prohibits dining in at restaurants and limits gatherings in response to COVID-19

Restaurants are limited to drive-thru and pick-up service, bars must close, and indoor and outdoor gatherings of more than 10 people are prohibited in Austin effective noon Tuesday. Critical infrastructure, like grocery stores, pharmacies, government buildings, schools and hospitals, are…

Subscribe to our newsletter

Public health experts address state of COVID-19, with no plans to scrap SXSW

Tuesday’s Travis County Commissioners Court meeting was virtually a preview of a news conference scheduled for today regarding the region’s response to the ongoing spread of COVID-19, more commonly known as the coronavirus. During a presentation to the five-member board,…

Austinites are not at higher risk of getting coronavirus after first confirmed case in Texas

Austin health officials say the threat of coronavirus has not gotten any worse now that the first case has been confirmed in Texas. Dr. Mark Escott, the interim medical director of Austin Public Health, said there is “virtually a zero-percent…

For the first time since 1999, someone in Travis County has rubella

Public health officials on Thursday morning confirmed the first case of rubella in Travis County since 1999. The confirmation comes roughly a month after the first diagnosis of measles, which was last seen in the Austin area in 1999, too.…

Audit: Social services contract rules need update

The city auditor’s team studying the city’s social services contracting process found that even though Austin spends millions of dollars on social services contracts, the city “does not have an explicit definition of ‘social services’ and lacks a formal social…

Trying to get apartment, employee committed fraud

An Austin Public Health employee misused her city computer, fax machines and the department’s patient records in an attempt to rent an apartment, according to an investigative report from the Office of the City Auditor. The report states that Johnetta…

person sleeping on street

City budget boosts spending for homelessness services

The new city manager and City Council agree: The city needs more money to address the homelessness situation. The proposed Fiscal Year 2018-19 budget submitted by City Manager Spencer Cronk includes $3.1 million in new spending on homelessness-related services. That’s…

Back to Top