TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas — The Austin-Travis County area has fallen below the Stage 4 threshold of its COVID-19 risk-based guidelines for hospital admissions, according to the City of Austin's staging dashboard.
The area dipped into Stage 4 for the seven-day moving average of new hospital admissions on Thursday, but officially remains in Stage 5 as of Saturday.
Looking closer at the numbers, Austin Public Health determines the area is in Stage 4 for average hospital admissions when the average falls between 25 and 50. As a of Thursday, the seven-day moving average of new hospital admissions was at 45. On Friday, the average fell to about 42, according to the dashboard.
The area hit an all-time high for average hospital admissions caused by the COVID-19 omicron variant on Jan. 19, when the average was 129. It has been dropping consistently since then.
Officials track the seven-day average of hospital admissions, community transmission rate and positivity rate to determine the COVID-19 risk-based guidelines. According to the dashboard, the community transmission rate remains "high" and the Travis County positivity rate was at 12% as of Friday afternoon when the dashboard was last updated.
The area entered Stage 5 on Jan. 6, just two days after all three indicators reached Stage 5 territory.
Austin City Councilmember Vanessa Fuentes said Saturday that two testing and vaccination sites would close as a result of the downward trend in hospitalizations. The COVID-19 testing site at the Dove Springs Rec Center will close along with the vaccination site at the Southeast Branch of the Austin Public Library.
The Dove Springs Rec Center testing site will relocate to Metz Elementary with new hours. It will operate Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. starting on Feb. 22.
Fuentes also said the county vaccination site at the Ray Martinez Building will be open weekends from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
As the Austin-Travis County area remains in Stage 5 of the COVID-19 risk-based guidelines, here's what health officials advise while in the highest stage:
- For high-risk individuals, indoor and outdoor private gathering as are not recommended at all, with or without precautions. Travel is discouraged unless essential and dining should be outdoors with precautions. Shopping should be outdoors, takeaway or curbside.
- For low-risk individuals, indoor and outdoor private gatherings, travel, shopping and dining should be with precautions.
- In Stage 5, all partially or not vaccinated individuals, regardless of risk, should avoid most activities unless essential. Shopping and dining should be takeaway or curbside.
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