Earlier in the day, Austin-Travis County Health Authority Mark Escott updated the Travis County Commissioners on the county's pandemic status. He said local case counts had mostly plateaued in recent weeks, with hints of a slight upswing in the past few days.
"We have to do better. We have to stay the course," Escott said.
In terms of hospital capacity, local intensive care units have relaxed from a surge stance into more "normal tempo," according to Escott. While daily admissions have been in the Stage 3 range for several days, he said more prolonged progress was needed before APH officially lowered the local risk level from Stage 4.
“We really want to have two weeks within the stage 3 territory before we entertain a change formally to Stage 3," he said.
Before in-person fall classes for local schools begin in September, Escott said he would like to see the community at Stage 2 or lower.
