As Order Lifts, Texans Should Still 'Mask Up': Austin Health

AUSTIN, TX — Austin Public Health officials are asking the public to continue to wear face masks despite Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's latest executive order.

The city-county public health department said Friday the community must continue with masking, distancing, and hand washing despite the governor's announcement to reopen Texas at a 100 percent capacity and lift the state's mask mandate on Tuesday, officials said at a news conference Friday.

Want to know more? Read the story: Gov. Abbott Moves 'To Open Texas At 100%,' End Mask Mandate

"We have done a really good job as a community ...but we must continue to stay the course," Stephanie Hayden-Howard, director of Austin Public Health, said. "We are excited about our positivity rate, but we are not there yet. We don't want to get complacent and think that COVID is no longer with us. It's going to be important for all of us to wear our masks and continue to wash one's hands."

Austin-Travis County remains in stage 4 of COVID-19 risk. During this stage, residents should continue to practice good hygiene, wear a mask, stay home if sick, avoid sick people and avoid nonessential travel. Businesses are recommended to operate at up to 25-50 percent capacity.

On Thursday, Travis County reported 91 new coronavirus cases and five related deaths, according to the county's COVID-19 dashboard data. The county has reported 76,365 total cases and 761 deaths since the pandemic began last March.

Based on the data, coronavirus cases have been on a steady decline since late January.

Dr. Mark Escott, Austin-Travis County interim health authority, said the mask mandate, which was first issued by Gov. Abbott in July 2020, was the "single most important and effective policy by the state" to help lower positivity rates.

Escott said the governor's message Tuesday on the importance of masking and good hygiene despite a lift on state mask enforcement still aligns with what Texans must do to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

"It is effectively a moral imperative that people wear masks," Escott said. "We are far from over with our battle with COVID-19. We have a lot more work to do and we have to continue to protect one another in the coming months...The executive order this week should not be a sign that we've been victorious ..."

With spring break and Easter around the corner, Janet Pichette, chief epidemiologist for the county's health department, said residents who choose to gather during that time could increase the likelihood for more coronavirus cases with new variants.

Pichette said as the state prepares to lift its mask mandate on March 10, it's everyone's individual responsibility to "take care of their families" and "be respectful" to others and businesses who choose to enforce mask wearing in its establishments.

Austin health officials also updated the community about its weekly vaccine distributions.

Cassandra Deleon, the assistant director of the public health department, said over the last eight weeks, 100,000 vaccines have been distributed to eligible Travis County residents. Of those, 30,000 have been fully vaccinated.

Deleon said the county anticipates to receive additional Moderna vaccines and the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine next week.

Last week, the Texas Department of State Health Services announced the state could initially receive more than 200,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The company has said it plans to ship 20 million shots in the U.S. by the end of March and an additional 80 million doses before the end of June.

More on the story: Texas Expects To Receive More Than 200,000 Initial Doses Of Newly Approved Johnson & Johnson Vaccine

Hayden-Howard said this weekend the public health department will host a "School Saturday" to vaccinate teachers, school staff and child care workers.

Officials told Patch Friday afternoon the clinic is not public and educators and child care providers who have registered in its system will be notified of a time and location.

The health department's event comes after Wednesday's decision by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to require all vaccine providers in the 50 states to immediately include school and child care workers in vaccine administration. The Texas Department of State Health Services also notified Texas providers on Wednesday.

Hayden-Howard said eligible residents who are having trouble to find a vaccine can visit http://vaccinefinder.org.

RELATED COVERAGE:

Austin Leaders Not Ready To Declare Victory Over COVID-19

Austin ISD Will Continue Mask Enforcement, Officials Say

TX Coronavirus Vaccine Hub: Where, Who And How To Get Immunized