Austin’s top doctor: New COVID-19 cases trend upwards in past few days, city to remain in Stage 4 - KXAN.com

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The City of Austin will remain in Stage 4, according to Austin’s Interim Health Authority Dr.

While ICUs move out of surge protocols, public health leaders say Austin is staying in Stage 4.

Right now, that age group makes up about 6 to 6.5% of the cases in Travis County, Escott says.

Escott says Austin Public Health has seen a decrease in people signing up for drive-thru testing as well as a decrease in people attending neighborhood testing.

Escott says there are enough tests available, but Austin Public Health will likely change the requirements for testing in order to allow more people to qualify for it.

Austin Public Health is working with the county to get tens of thousands of masks ready for public distribution, Escott says.

Travis County Commissioners passed a resolution after Escott’s briefing to allow for the enforcement of local health orders in the county.

The Travis County Sheriff’s Office and Fire Marshal will have the authority to enforce the health orders, and commissioners plan to share the order with smaller cities in Travis County, so they can implement similar measures if they choose.