AUSTIN, Texas — Austin Public Health officials announced Tuesday that the City and Travis County had moved to Stage 2 of its COVID-19 risk-based guidelines.
In Stage 2, the recommendations include: fully-vaccinated people can participate in outdoor and indoor private gatherings and dine and shop without precautions, if allowed by the business. Partially vaccinated people or unvaccinated people can participate in outdoor and indoor private gatherings and dine and shop with precautions.
Everyone can travel with precautions regardless of their vaccination status, according to the City Stage 2 guidelines.
A person is considered fully-vaccinated two weeks after completing the full course of their COVID-19 vaccination regimen: Pfizer and Moderna require two doses and Johnson & Johnson requires one dose.
“We did not get to this stage by luck. Throughout this pandemic, our community took the necessary protection measures to reduce spread and get vaccinated which helped us achieve a lower risk level and therefore relaxed rules,” said Dr. Mark Escott, Austin Medical Director. “Those who have been fully vaccinated can resume many activities without the need to wear a mask, and those who are unvaccinated have plenty of opportunities available to get vaccinated and help us get closer to herd immunity.”
The announcement of the move to Stage 2 comes as more Texans continue to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. According to State data, 42% of Texans 16 years old or older have been fully-vaccinated. In Travis County specifically, 51.02% of those 16 years old or older have been fully-vaccinated.
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Austin health officials also updated its Health Authority Rules through June 15, which includes updates to allow businesses to adopt policies for those who are fully vaccinated that more closely align with new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read more on the masking rules here.
The City of Austin had moved into Stage 3 on March 13, the one-year anniversary of the first positive COVID-19 case in Austin-Travis County.
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