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Austin Mayor Steve Adler said that, due to a surge in COVID-19 cases, Austin-area ICUs could be over capacity in less than 10 days.
"We're on a trajectory right now that we could be inundating our intensive care units here within the next week to 10 days," Adler told CNN's Dana Bash on Sunday. "We're watching the numbers on a daily basis. We may have to take more drastic action."
Adler said that "if we don't change the trajectory" of the virus, hospitals in general could be "overrun" in two weeks.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler on infection numbers in his city: "If we don't change the trajectory, then I am within two… https://t.co/1Md5QCjNEL— State of the Union (@State of the Union) 1593956435.0
Adler has already, as of Friday, banned outdoor gatherings of more than 10 people, but he said he would like the governor to give local officials more leeway on additional restrictions that could be implemented as early as Wednesday.
"I don't know that the governor needs to do a statewide order at this point," Adler said. "But I want him to give us locally the ability to be able to do it, so that—so that I would have the ability to do that on Wednesday in my city."
Adler's office said Sunday night that the city will see new numbers from the University of Texas COVID-19 Modeling Consortium on Wednesday, along with an update from Austin-Travis County Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott. The findings will be presented publicly Thursday.
Dr. Escott said last week that he would recommend a shutdown if the seven-day rolling average number of hospitalizations in the Austin area reaches 70. As of Sunday night, that average was 61.6.
Considering a stay-home order, if he can
Adler said Monday he is considering a stay-home order for the city due to the rising number of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations.
"It's something that we're considering," he said during a second appearance on CNN. "It's only to be used as a last resort."
As Adler said later in the interview, it's not clear that cities can institute stay-home orders without additional authority from Gov. Greg Abbott. "That's the conventional wisdom," he said.
Emma Freer contributed additional reporting.
This article has been updated with additional comments from Adler.
Popular
- San Marcos favorite Industry Burger opens "mid-October" on E. 5th, featuring "low key healthy" Texas fare.
- Still Austin Whiskey Co. introduces "The Artist," its new rye whiskey.
- Domain NORTHSIDE favorites Bakery Lorraine, Grimaldi's Pizzeria, Jeni's Ice Cream and Sprinkles released their fall flavors.
- Cinnaholic at The Arboretum opens Friday, October 14, serving "create your own" cinnamon rolls and other sweet treats.
- San Francisco's Marufuku Ramen opens next Wednesday, October 12, in the Mueller District.
- Carpenter Hotel announces its popup food truck, Lil Carpenter, open Fri-Sun both ACL weekends, serving what you want, early to late, coffee to donuts, to dogs/burgers/fries/beer.
(AUS airport/Instagram)
With major entertainment events slated for October, the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is gearing up for a busy month.
Artists and music lovers are set to pack into Zilker Park for The Austin City Limits Music Festival in the coming two weekends. Following that, Formula One will bring racing fans to the Circuit of the Americas.
For those two events, the airport is anticipating high passenger days with 30,000 or more people departing flights.
ABIA recommends arriving at least two and a half hours in advance for domestic flights on those days. For ACL, it's expected on both Sundays of the festival along with the Monday and Tuesday after. The F1-driven high passenger days are expected on Oct. 20-21 and Oct. 23-26.
\u201c#AustinCityLimits visitors, you\u2019re in for a weird and wild ride \ud83e\udd18\u262e\ufe0f \n\nFlying in or out of our airport? We got firm and fun tips for you: https://t.co/RawVRalOXN\u201d— Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) (@Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS)) 1664894083
F1, especially, could draw in loads of travelers as the three-day event saw 400,000 attendees last year. ABIA warns that highways leading to the airport may see even higher traffic than usual around the event and that travelers should plan their route accordingly.
Bailey Grimmett, a spokesperson for ABIA, said travel numbers come in 24 hours in advance. So, it's hard to predict if the airport will see travel volumes at the same levels that have happened around previous F1 races or if it'll top ACL's flight traffic.
Still, she says historical knowledge points to a chance for it.
“We've had that Monday after F1 break the record for single busiest in airport history," Grimmett said. "So context clues I would say yes, but I can't confirm that. But the historical background points to that."
In anticipation of the high volume of flyers, the airport received additional TSA officers for security screening through the end of October. To prepare even further, the Department of Aviation and partners hosted a job showcase and hiring fair to address the continued labor shortage the airport has experienced.
Relief from hectic travel days is on the horizon with November likely to see a slowdown.
"I don't anticipate it will be as busy as October just because we don't have as many events going on," Grimmett said. "Thanksgiving is kind of our primary holiday that we see a lot of passengers coming in and out of the airport."
