We’ll share live updates on how the coronavirus is affecting Austin and Central Texas throughout the weekend. Have a news tip? Email us at news@kut.org.
Here’s a roundup of local news on the coronavirus (for Saturday’s updates, go here):
Hays County and San Marcos issue state of disaster declaration
Hays County and San Marcos declared a local state of disaster amid coronavirus concerns during a press conference Sunday morning.
“The biggest message will be to understand why we are doing this,” Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra said. “Although the risk of severe illness may be low, we want every resident in Hays County to take the personal responsibility to prevent the spread.”
San Marcos Mayor Jane Hughson said the declaration activates the city’s emergency plan and enables the city to utilize disaster funding and resources available through state and federal agencies.
Read more from Marisa Charpentier here.
City of Austin cancels Statesman Cap10K Race
The largest 10K race in Texas has been canceled. More than 26,000 people already registered for the 43rd Statesman Capitol 10,000 which was scheduled to happen in Austin on April 5. But the City of Austin’s new ban on gatherings of 250 people or more means the event can no longer go on as planned. The city is also not permitting the race to be rescheduled again this year.
“We’re working diligently on a series of solutions. At this point, in either May or June after the critical coronavirus period has passed, we’ll invite participants to pick up their 2020 race shirt, bib and finisher’s medal,” said Jeff Simecek, Statesman Cap10K race director. “We’re also inviting runners to complete a Cap10K 6.2 mile virtual race when it’s convenient for them and to share and tag their photos and videos with the hashtag #Cap10Kvirtualrace.”
Simecek says all registered participants can expect to receive more information via email. The 2021 Cap10K is scheduled for Sunday, April 11.
St. David’s Healthcare facilities implement visitor restrictions
St. David’s HealthCare is putting visitor restrictions in place at all of its facilities to control the spread of the coronavirus starting Sunday. St. David’s President and Chief Executive Officer calls this “necessary given the recent presumptive cases in our community.”
Visiting hours will be limited to 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., and only one adult visitor per patient is allowed at a time. No one under the age of 18 years old will be allowed to visit. St. David’s will allow one visitor to remain overnight in certain areas of the hospital only. This includes pediatrics, neonatal ICU, and labor and delivery.
St. David’s says they will continue to screen people who enter the facilities. Here is a video of what people can expect to see and what types of questions they’ll be asked. St. David’s will not let a visitor in if they do not pass the screening test.
Catholic Diocese of Austin limits attendance at Mass
The Catholic Diocese of Austin says they are restricting the number of people attending Mass to 250 in adherence to the city’s new ban on large gatherings.
The diocese says ushers will be counting the number of people at church doors. If necessary, they are instructing parishes to host a simultaneous Mass that can be held on other church grounds, like a hall or gym.
The 250-person limit, however, only applies to parishes within the Austin/Travis County area. The Austin diocese is made up of churches in Georgetown, San Marcos, Bastrop and other cities.
Movie theaters keep distance between viewers to prevent COVID-19 spread
Alamo Drafthouse has said it will start building in “buffer” seats around moviegoers — meaning that when you buy a ticket, the seats next to you will be taken offline and remain empty for the show. While the company’s official release announced the change only in some New York and California locations, a screenshot shared with KUT shows that it’s happening in at least one Austin theater.
The Austin Film Society is taking similar steps, and on Monday will cut in half the capacity in their theaters to “encourage audience members to maintain distance while in the cinema.”
Both companies said staff members are sanitizing seats, armrests and cup holders, and that all staff will be wearing latex gloves during these cleanings.
Mayor Adler says residents play an important role in preventing community spread
Mayor Steve Adler says the move to ban events with more than 250 people in Austin is an attempt to thwart the spread of COVID-19 in the city.
“This virus is coming and it’s going to spread just like the flu,” he told KUT. “But the cities that have done well are the cities that have managed … to not overwhelm the city or its health care system. So social distancing … is really our city’s protection against getting overwhelmed.”
Public health officials say the three confirmed cases in Travis County are not cases of person-to-person spread. Adler said the city still has time to contain spread, and that will require people to heed the directions laid out by the city.
“We have some control over how [the] virus impacts us, and that’s a good thing to have the measure of control,” he said. “But it’s also something that really makes it up to us. How this impacts Austin will be the result of the decisions we make individually and collectively.”
People over the age of 60 with prior health conditions are advised to avoid gatherings of more than 10 people. Austin Public Health is also asking that gatherings with more than 125 people be canceled due to health concerns. Adler says these decisions were made with a focus on minimizing community spread.
“We shouldn’t forget why it is that we’re going through this period of time,” he said. “Everybody should really focus on making sure that we do absolutely the best we can with this virus. And that means creating an environment where the virus just does not spread the way that it has in some places.”
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