Mayor Steve Adler said Monday that the city and Travis County are preparing shelter-in-place orders that would further restrictions on social movement to tamp down spread of the coronavirus.
No timeline has been set for if and when any order would be put in place, but Adler told the American-Statesman Monday that one could be issued at the drop of a hat if medical authorities determine such an order is necessary.
The likelihood of a shelter-in-place order appears to be growing as Dallas County became the first county in Texas to put in restrictions on Sunday. The city of Waco put in similar restrictions Monday.
“We want to make sure that we are prepared,” Adler said. “(A shelter in place order) is part of the emergency planning that is happening. There are discussions happening right now to that issue.”
Adler said drafts of the order are similar to Dallas County’s restrictions. While basically all social gatherings were banned, restaurants can continue to deliver or offer take out food. People are permitted to go outside to walk their pets or exercise, but must stay at least 6 feet apart from other individuals.
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Locally, limitations on social gatherings have been steadily growing since Travis County and the city of Austin ordered bars and restaurant dining rooms closed last week. On Saturday, Travis County and the city of Austin put in place new restrictions to encourage social distancing at grocery stores, pharmacies and warehouses.
A shelter-in-place order would come at the recommendation of Austin Public Health. Dr. Mark Escott, interim Austin-Travis County Health Authority, said Friday such a recommendation would be based on modeling of the spread of the coronavirus and capacity of area hospitals.
Gov. Greg Abbott stopped short of issuing a shelter-at-home mandate on Sunday, preferring to leave those decisions in the hands of local authorities in part because a large majority of Texas’ counties have yet to report any confirmed cases of the coronavirus. A Statesman analysis of state data, public health authority reports and news reports from across the state showed that 658 cases of the coronavirus had been confirmed in 52 of Texas’ 254 counties as of Sunday night.
In Travis County, 79 cases were confirmed as of Sunday, the second highest total for a county in Texas behind Dallas County.
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