50% Capacity Limits Amid Coronavirus Ordered For Austin Firms

AUSTIN, TX — Rising illness and hospitalization rates blamed on the coronavirus triggered new business restrictions on Sunday highlighted by a need to reduce occupancy limits to 50 percent, officials announced.

The governor announced additional COVID-19-related occupancy requirements and restrictions due to worsening conditions in the region, city and county officials said Sunday in a joint statement. Under Gov. Greg Abbott's Order GA 32, after a state Trauma Service Area has coronavirus hospitalizations representing 15 percent of overall hospitalizations for seven consecutive days, additional restrictions on businesses and hospitals must occur, officials explained.

Austin-Travis County is part of Trauma Service Area O, which encompasses 11 counties in Central Texas, that have met illness levels triggering the restrictions that are not optional for local jurisdictions. As a result, multiple businesses — including restaurants and retail operations — are required to move from 75 percent occupancy to 50 percent, while hospitals are required to stop elective surgeries.

“We are incredibly concerned that our area has hit the hospitalization rate which has resulted in the rollback on the occupancy of businesses,” said Dr. Mark Escott, Interim Austin-Travis County Health Authority. “The projections have been concerning for some time, and this is just the latest reminder that Austin-Travis County is experiencing a deadly surge in cases as a result of holiday gatherings and gatherings thereafter."

But gubernatorial orders alone are not enough to mitigate the upward illness trend, Escott said: "The additional restrictions placed by GA 32 alone, though, will not be enough to counterbalance this surge in cases and hospitalizations. In other jurisdictions that hit this point prior to the Austin area, cases and hospitalizations continue their uncontrolled rise. Dallas/Fort Worth is at 27 percent, San Antonio at 22 percent, and Houston at almost 20 percent and all three continue to rise. We need every person in this community to understand that exceeding our hospital capacity is now inevitable, but how far we exceed that capacity depends on all of us. Today is the day to decide to stay home and reduce risk to save our hospitals and save lives.”

The announcement comes one day after Austin-Travis County announced the beginning of the activation process for the Alternate Care Site (ACS). The ACS will be activated to take specific COVID-19 low-acuity patients to help relieve stress on local hospitals.

“It is critically important that everyone follow protective measures at this time,” said Stephanie Hayden, Austin Public Health Director. “Wearing a mask, washing your hands, watching your distance, and avoiding gatherings have been lifesaving measures throughout this pandemic. We will not be able to vaccinate or enforce our way out of the surge already happening, so we need to take it upon ourselves to protect our community.”

COVID-19 hospital data for the five -county Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) can be found on the Austin Public Health COVID-19 dashboards. Historical and raw data can be found on the COVID-19 Data Hub. For more information about COVID-19, visit the city's COVID-19 Information portal.