Editor's note: This live blog is no longer updating. For coronavirus updates in Central Texas, check out KVUE's Aug. 7 live blog.
KVUE is keeping you updated with the latest coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, news in the Austin area.
Scroll down for the top headlines and latest updates in KVUE's Aug. 6 live blog.
COVID-19 numbers:
- Texas: More than 450,000 cases have been reported in the state, and more than 7,400 people in Texas have died, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
- Central Texas counties:
- Travis County: Over 22,200 cases have been reported and at least 288 people have died. At least 20,525 people have recovered from the virus.
- Hays County: More than 4,900 confirmed cases have been reported and at least 34 people have died. At least 2,126 people have recovered from the virus.
- Williamson County: More than 6,000 cases have been reported in the county and at least 86 people have died. More than 5,300 people have recovered from the virus.
GRAPHS: Coronavirus data Aug. 6
Updates:
6:40 p.m. – Texas nursing homes and long-term care facilities will now allow limited visitation.
“Access to family and loved ones is an important part of every resident’s health and well-being, which is why this policy shift is a move in the right direction for some of our most fragile Texans,” said Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, chair of the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services.
At nursing facilities, public visitation is limited to outdoor visits only and visitors are not allowed to have physical contact with residents.
Each facility must also meet certain guidelines.
6:05 p.m. – On Thursday, Williamson County reported another three deaths from COVID-19, while Travis County reported another one death from the virus. Travis County reported 232 new confirmed cases, while there were 109 new confirmed cases in Williamson County.
5:05 p.m. – Hays County reported 20 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, along with 38 additional individuals now considered recovered.
4 p.m. – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton joined 21 other states in a letter to the U.S. Congress urging the adoption of federal pandemic liability protections contained in the Safe to Work Act. Paxton said these protections will help mitigate the threat of frivolous COVID-19-related litigation while ensuring victims have legal options where appropriate.
2:30 p.m. – St. Edward's University announces it will be canceling fall sports competitions. For now, the decision only affects volleyball, women's soccer and men's and women's cross country.
12:54 p.m. – The Texas Education Agency has revealed how the agency will use $200 million in government funding. See the new guidelines here.
12:51 p.m. – The City of Austin’s Economic Development Department will reopen its $1.5 million Austin Music Disaster Relief fund, which will provide $1,000 grants to musicians to cover emergency needs as COVID-19 continues to decimate the live music scene.
12:40 p.m. – In an emergency order posted Thursday, the Texas Supreme Court extended until Oct. 1 the limits on jury proceedings in previous pandemic-related orders The latest order specifies that the Office of Court Administration, in coordination with the regional presiding judges and local administrative judges, should assist trial courts in conducting a limited number of jury proceedings before Oct. 1, whether in-person or remote proceedings involving grand and petit jurors, and no later than Aug. 28 must outline recommendations to the Texas Supreme Court regarding jury proceedings.
11:55 p.m. – According to the office of Sen. John Cornyn, several Central Texas cities and counties have been awarded a total of $742,582 in another round of federal grants to help public housing authorities recover from the economic impacts of COVID-19. The funding was appropriated by Congress in March and comes through the Department of Housing and Urban Development as part of the CARES Act.
“As Texans continue to grapple with the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, it’s critical that we continue to do everything we can to shield them from the economic fallout,” said Sen. Cornyn. “I’ll continue to do everything I can to encourage economic recovery in Central Texas amid this deadly pandemic.”
11:19 a.m. – The morning after his "State of the City" address, Mayor Steve Adler joined KVUE Daybreak. Adler had mentioned that COVID-19 cases have plateaued in Austin. On Daybreak, he said "If we want to be able to sustain the opening of schools and sustain the opening of businesses, we have to get infectivity lower. We're about 10- to 15% in the community right now. We have to get below 5% for us to be able to feel good about sustaining those things."
8:24 a.m. – It's not just COVID-19 on state leader's minds. At 11:30 a.m. in Dallas, Gov. Greg Abbott will host a roundtable to discuss the upcoming flu season with health officials.
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