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Austin Mayor Steve Adler said that the city would reverse its decision to offer testing for COVID-19 to people without symptoms because the city no longer has the capacity for it.
Adler attributed the decision to Austin-Travis County Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott in a Facebook video.
"Dr. Escott is now saying that not everybody can get tested," Adler said in Friday's video. "We're going to go back to only testing people who are symptomatic because we, frankly, don't have enough testing capability."
The Texas Tribune reports long lines at testing sites.
Travis County reported 728 new cases on Saturday, though no reports were made public Friday because the COVID-19 dashboard was down for maintenance.
Adler also asked that people who have health insurance avoid using the Austin Public Health free testing service.
"We have so many people that are going online that it's hard to get an appointment for several days," the mayor said. "Anybody who has insurance should not be using Central Health or CommUnityCare testing. If you have insurance, please contact your doctor or your insurance carrier and find out where it is that you can get testing."
In an email update sent Saturday, the mayor said the city may hit hospital capacity by mid-July. He urged residents to wear masks and keep distance from each other.
NOW is crunch time. We have to change our behaviors to change course. This week alone, our rate of infections grew… https://t.co/fTvASJqE1V— Mayor Adler | 😷wear a mask. (@Mayor Adler | 😷wear a mask.)1593266362.0
The mayor said Friday he appreciated the governor's order to close bars again and decrease capacity in restaurants.
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(Dolce Neve)
He's since been offering that same experience for the past seven years with his artisanal gelato shop, Dolce Neve, in Austin, alongside his sister and her husband.
Leo Ferrarese, Marco and Franscesa Silvestrini run Dolce Neve. (Dolce Neve)
While gelato always played a big role in Silvestrini's life, it wasn't in his plans to take on a business with his favorite treat. After a few years in New York working as a management consultant, he felt he was missing out on something. "I decided to take a step back and started thinking, what could... I do to make society better and happier, even just for a moment," Silvestrini said.
He thought back to his childhood and the role gelato played in it and wanted to offer the same experience to Americans.
Once he had the product idea down, it came down to location. Growing up among farmers in a small community in Central Italy, Silvestrini knew he wanted a slower pace of living than New York, so he asked around. The answer he got: "Austin." The only thing he knew about what would become his future home was it had a Formula 1 track.
But after visiting once, he felt a great sense of community he didn't feel in The Empire State. "I felt it was not just a good place for a concept like mine, but also a good place to live because at the end of the day, you cannot just think about your business," he said.
"Dolce Neve" translates to "sweet snow." The shops offers 12-18 flavors at a time. (Dolce Neve)
Similarly, his sister Francesca Silvestrini was experiencing the same feelings while studying for her Ph.D. in Ohio before teaming up with Silvestrini. She went back to Italy to be properly trained in making gelato while Silvestrini focused on the business plan. They brought Leo Ferrarese, her husband, onboard and opened their first shop on South First Street in January 2014. The rest is history.
On the menu, you'll find various traditional and innovative flavors that rotate out. Some of the staples include chocolate, 100% vanilla from Madagascar and salted caramel. Other rotating or seasonal flavors include whiskey and pecan, organic cantaloupe sorbet, goat cheese and pecan, almond custard and tiramisu. They've created over 300 flavors together in the span of the business.
So what's next for the shop? Lately, Silvestrini has been thinking a lot about that. With two locations in Austin, one in Houston—he's just not sure if expanding more is the right move. Maintaining a quality product and good service is of utmost importance that he's not willing to sacrifice.
"In order to be happy, it's not about making money, it's about being an integral part of the community," Silvestrini said. "There have been so many cases in which I think what I did today really made a difference in somebody's life."
