Austin returns to Stage 3 guidelines after steady decline in COVID-19 cases, health officials say - Austin American-Statesman

Austin Public Health on Tuesday moved the community to Stage 3 of the agency's risk-based COVID-19 guidelines, allowing many Travis County residents to safely unmask while shopping and dining indoors. .

Desmar Walkes, who announced the positive change during a joint Austin City Council and Travis County Commissioners Court meeting Tuesday, still urged the public to be cautious while moving forward into the fall and winter seasons. .

Each stage is partly determined using the rolling weekly average of new daily hospital admissions for COVID-19. .

More: Austin area's 7-day average of daily hospital admissions for COVID drops to 19.

In July, Walkes, pointing to the highly contagious delta variant as the driver of a new summer surge, implored residents regardless of vaccination status to wear masks in public as cases started increasing. Austin and Travis County moved into Stage 5 of the agency's risk-based guidelines in early August after the area began to see a steady increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations.

More: Austin returns to Stage 4 after steady decline in COVID-19 cases, health officials say

More: Austin area's 7-day average of daily hospital admissions for COVID drops to 19