Austin, Texas, reportedly confirmed its first cases on March 13, 2020, with the related onset of symptoms occurring as early as March 2, 2020. However, the disease may have reached the Austin area earlier. In an unconfirmed case, a 67 year old man in Bastrop, TX, traveled to Clovis, NM on December 21. He was hospitalized in Clovis on December 23, 2019, then transported via ambulance to Lubbock where he was placed on a ventilator. He declined rapidly and died on January 2, 2020. Though there was no testing available at the time, he exhibited classic symptoms of COVID-19. The first fatality associated with the disease was reported on March 27, 2020. , the City of Austin (which reports its data in conjunction with Travis County) has reported over 50,000 cases of COVID-19, with 573 deaths associated with the disease.
The threat of COVID-19 prior to its confirmed arrival in the Austin area led to the issuance of a local disaster declaration on March 6, 2020, and the cancellation of South by Southwest for the first time in its history. Restrictions on gatherings and dining establishments and other mandatory protocols were issued by the municipal government and became more stringent in March 2020 following the first confirmed cases of COVID-19 and the ensuing rise in the disease's prevalence. Austin Public Health (APH) first reported evidence of community spread in the area on March 19, 2020. By the end of March 2020, a stay-at-home order had been issued, along with associated social distancing guidelines and operations changes affecting numerous Austin businesses.
In June–July 2020, the Austin area experienced a large increase in the spread of COVID-19, making it one of the U.S.'s most prominent hotspots for the pandemic. At one point, the Greater Austin metropolitan area had the highest positivity rate for the disease of any metropolitan area in the U.S. While restrictions remained in place in the following months, cases declined after July 2020 before another surge of the disease began towards the end of 2020.
Overview COVID-19 is a contagious respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. Although the first reported cases were contemporaneously confirmed in the Wuhan, Hubei, China, on December 31, 2019, a later study conducted by the Genetic Institute at the University College London indicate a possible origin as early as October 2019 via zoonosis. The rapid spread of the virus led to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On April 16, 2020, Austin Public Health (APH) reported over a thousand cases of COVID-19 within its jurisdiction. The cumulative number of reported cases exceeded 10,000 on July 1, 2020. Most of the 552 deaths confirmed so far are associated with older individuals, with 82 percent of deaths from individuals aged 60 or older. Based on 2019 mortality data, COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in Travis County in 2020, behind cancer and heart disease.
Austin Public Health risk categories On May 13, 2020, APH unveiled a set of risk-based guidelines for behavior organized into five color-coded stages, with stage 1 representing the lowest risk and stage 5 representing the highest risk. More stringent measures were recommended for individuals more susceptible to the disease. Austin began at stage 3 when the guidelines were released. The initial guidelines provided recommendations for business closures, but these were later changed to broader capacity suggestions applicable to all businesses. On May 28, APH provided recommended thresholds for its stages based on 7-day average hospitalizations in the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Transition into or out of stage 5 was recommended if 7-day average hospitalizations exceeded or decreased below 70.
+ Austin Public Health recommendations (November 13, 2020, edition) Stage Social distancing Facial coverings Higher-risk individuals General populace Business capacity Gathering limits Non-essential travel Dining/shopping Gathering limits Non-essential travel Dining/shopping Stage 1 (green) 25 people Avoid except with precautions 100% Stage 2 (blue) Yes Yes 10 people Avoid non-essential 25 people 75% Stage 3 (yellow) Yes Yes Non-social; 10 people Avoid Avoid non-essential Non-social; 10 people 50–75% Stage 4 (light orange) Yes Yes Non-social; 2 people Avoid Avoid non-essential Non-social; 10 people Avoid 25–50% Stage 5 (dark orange) Yes Yes Within household only Avoid Avoid non-essential Within household only Avoid Avoid non-essential Contactless services only
Timeline
Initial response and first shelter-in-place (January–April 2020)
Prior to confirmed onset On January 22, 2020, APH tweeted that it was coordinating with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the State of Texas to monitor and respond to any local outbreaks of COVID-19. On January 27, 2020, the University of Texas at Austin began banning its students from traveling to Wuhan following recommendations from the U.S. Department of State; at the time, there were fewer than 10 students studying abroad in China. Faculty, staff, and graduate student travel to China required committee review and authorization while undergraduate travel was prohibited. Towards the end of January 2020, the Austin Independent School District (Austin ISD) began screening students and staff for COVID-19, keying in on individuals with recent travel to China or presenting with a fever. The Austin-Travis County EMS also began monitoring individuals with a susceptible travel history. APH activated its Department Operations Center in February 2020 and established a five-phase COVID-19 coordination and response strategy. Although cases would not be confirmed in Austin for another 11 days, interviews between Austin Public Health officials and 70 people later testing positive for the virus found that some individuals were symptomatic as early as March 2, 2020. These individuals may have been diagnosed with the flu or other upper respiratory tract infection and may have contributed to an undetected spread of COVID-19 in the Austin area. On March 3, 2020, APH announced that it was investigating at least one patient in Travis County for COVID-19. Some technology and social media companies, including Amazon Studios, Facebook, Mashable, TikTok, and Twitter, and musical artists like Ozzy Osbourne, Trent Reznor, and Atticus Ross, began withdrawing from the Austin music and media conference South by Southwest scheduled for March 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns. Pressure to cancel the event increased as additional participants pulled out of the conference; a Change.org petition calling for SXSW's cancellation amassed over 50,000 signatures. Conference organizers anticipated that SXSW would continue as planned with increased sanitation stations; Mark Escott of APH stated that there was "no evidence" that cancelling the event would "make the community safer."
On March 6, 2020, Austin Mayor Steve Adler and Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt declared a local state of disaster for the city, activating the city's Emergency Operations Plan. Adler also proscribed SXSW from proceeding, marking the first cancellation of the event in its 34-year history. Other events expecting more than 2,500 participants were also prohibited unless organizers could demonstrate the efficacy of their disease mitigation plans. The disaster declaration was made in anticipation of the city's "Spring Festival" season, a period in which the city hosts several events including SXSW; significant visitors were still expected from outside the city during the season despite the declaration. Austin ISD canceled its international school trips on March 7, 2020. Additional events around the city were cancelled or postponed in subsequent weeks. Escott issued a control order on March 11, 2020, directing long-term care facilities to take precautionary actions including checking the temperature of anyone entering the facility and mandatory reporting of any febrile illnesses to APH. The Austin City Council voted unanimously on March 12, 2020, to extend the local disaster declaration indefinitely.
First confirmed cases and stay-at-home order The first presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 in Austin/Travis County were reported by APH on March 13, 2020. Two of the patients lived outside of Travis County while the third was Carmel Fenves, the wife of University of Texas President Greg Fenves. The University of Texas at Austin, St. Edward's University, Austin Community College, and Austin ISD all canceled classes on March 13 in response to the developments. Community gatherings—defined as public or private and indoor or outdoor events expecting at least 250 people simultaneously in a confined or enclosed space—were banned in an order adopted by Adler and Eckhardt on March 14, 2020, and effective between March 15–May 1. Violations of the order were considered misdemeanors subject to fines of up to $1,000 or 180 days in jail. Austin's first drive-through COVID-19 testing center was opened on March 14. Escott issued a control order that day mandating screening and isolation procedures for all healthcare facilities, echoing the similar order for long-term care facilities issued earlier in the week. To reduce the risk of the disease at the Travis County Jail, county judges increased the approval of bonds for inmates. Adler and Eckhardt issued an order on March 17, 2020, ordering the closure of bars and common dining areas at restaurants until May 1. Community gatherings of 10 or more people in a confined space were also prohibited outside of spaces designated as critical facilities. Operating procedures within the Austin Police Department and Austin Fire Department were also changed to mitigate the spread of the disease.
On March 19, 2020, APH reported evidence of community spread of COVID-19. Austin adopted the Texas Governor Greg Abbott's social gathering restrictions and social distancing requirements on March 20, 2020, with Adler affirming in an order that "staying home is safest." With hospitals facing increasing pressure from increasing pandemic-related hospitalizations and risk of viral exposure, more than 250 doctors petitioned Austin and Travis County officials to procure additional protective equipment, increase testing, and implement a mandatory lockdown. Hospitals in the Austin area barred most visitors. St. David's HealthCare began to postpone elective surgeries on March 23. A stay-at-home order was issued on March 24, 2020, directing the closure of non-essential state businesses and prohibiting gatherings of any size outside of a single household through April 13, 2020. Non-essential travel was also prohibited. Violations of the order also carried the same penalties as the earlier March 14 order. At a press conference announcing the order, Escott also called upon area schools to remain closed for the remainder of their terms.