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Abbott suspends elective surgeries in Austin, pauses Texas reopening as COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations rise
25 June 2020
Austin-area hospitals have seen an increase in admissions. (Travis County COVID-19 dashboard)
Amid what he called a "massive outbreak" of new COVID-19 cases. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order suspending elective surgeries at hospitals in Bexar, Dallas, Harris and Travis counties.
"These four counties have experienced significant increases in people being hospitalized due to COVID-19 and today's action is a precautionary step to ensure that the hospitals in these counties continue to have ample supply of available beds to treat COVID-19 patients," Abbott said in a statement issued this morning.
All hospitals in these areas are directed to postpone surgeries and procedures that are not immediately medically necessary.
Abbott implemented the same order earlier in the pandemic, which freed up hospital capacity but also led to a sharp drop in revenue for providers and 1,200 layoffs at Baylor Scott & White Health.
Austin's hospital capacity
Austin-Travis County Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott said Travis County could see its caseload double in the next 18 days and area hospital capacity overwhelmed by mid-July at a virtual press conference yesterday.
Unless the rising curve of COVID cases is not flattened soon, Dr. Escott said he would have to recommend a second shutdown to local elected officials.
Austin's three major hospital systems—Ascension Seton, Baylor Scott & White Health and St. David's HealthCare—issued a joint statement Wednesday, before the governor's order.
The three hospital systems have 2,470 staffed beds, 71% of which were occupied as of Wednesday night; together they also have 483 ICU beds, 70% of which were occupied.
The surge plan
The systems can increase their total bed capacity to 3,250 beds, but "it would require staffing that exceeds what we typically have available for daily operations," per the statement.
The city released a three-stage surge plan in early April, which includes establishing additional hospital beds.
Although the city has not identified where field hospitals may be, local physicians said that hospitals have been planning for such a contingency for months.
"We do not want to provide care for you at the Austin Convention Center," Dr. Kirsten Nieto, an internal medicine and pediatric hospitalist at Dell Children's and Dell Seton, said at yesterday's press conference. "We want you to stay home."
Reopening
Abbott also announced Thursday that he is temporarily pausing the state's reopening.
"The last thing we want to do as a state is go backwards and close down businesses," he said in a separate statement. "This temporary pause will help our state corral the spread until we can safely enter the next phase of opening our state for business."
This pause does not change any previous developments, which include allowing restaurants to increase capacity to 75% and amusement parks to reopen.
This article has been updated with the announcement about pausing the reopening process.
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There is nearly nothing Texas loves more than its Saturday game days, and according to Texas Athletic Director Chris Del Conte, Longhorn fans can plan to pack the stands again in 2021—pending herd immunity.
<p>As the one-year anniversary of COVID-19 rolls around, a hopeful fan reached out to Del Conte on Twitter and asked if the University of Texas is planning for full stadium capacity when the season starts, "assuming the majority of the country is vaccinated."</p><p>Del Conte responded with an optimistic "That's our plan," flashing a hook 'em emoji.</p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">That's our plan🤘🏽 <a href="https://t.co/0CemSqHt5E">https://t.co/0CemSqHt5E</a><br/>— Chris Del Conte (@_delconte) <a href="https://twitter.com/_delconte/status/1364335682777276420?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></div><p>Texas plans to open the season on Sept. 4 against Louisiana—a start date that is still more than 190 days away. During the 2020 season, stadium capacity was limited to 25%—or about 25,000 attendees. Other sports were limited as well.</p><p>With medical professionals projecting that the U.S. will return to some degree of normalcy this year—Dr. Marty Markay predicting <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/well-have-herd-immunity-by-april-11613669731" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">normalcy by April</a> and Dr. Anthony Fauci predicting a much later timeline of the end of 2021—Texas Football celebrations might be in the future. </p><p>However, Austin Public Health has previously said relaxing COVID safety measures—such as capacity restrictions at events—the county would need to establish herd immunity—which occurs when <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-vaccine-eligibility" target="_self">70% to 75%</a> of the population is immune to the disease. Currently, only 11% of the age 16 and older Travis County population is vaccinated with at least one dose. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine could be authorized for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration on Friday; the availability of a third vaccine could speed up the process of achieving herd immunity. And COVID cases continue to decline. </p><p>All in all, UT started collecting deposits for season tickets three weeks ago, inviting fans to become part of the #AllGasNoBrakes era of Texas Football led by new Head Coach Steve Sarkisian, saying the athletic department plans to return to normal on its website.</p><p>"Texas Athletics is currently planning for attendance at 2021 home games to be at 100% seating capacity. We will continue to monitor local COVID-19 health and safety conditions in coordination with NCAA, Big 12, University, state, and local medical partners," the website reads.</p><p>Texas is starting the spring season a little later than normal this year, planning to start the first practice on March 23 and first game pending on April 24. In his weekly newsletter, Del Conte encouraged fans to come out for the first game, saying "you'll definitely want to plan to be in Austin for that one."</p>
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(Michael Barera/CC)
Journalists at the Austin American-Statesman and its six community newspapers won the right Wednesday to negotiate for a union contract.
The National Labor Relations Board in Fort Worth tallied the results of a newsroom election, in which 36 employees voted in favor of union representation and 12 voted against. The NLRB still must formally certify the election.
<p>"We're excited to move forward with a voice in our future and to continue to #KeepAustinInformed," the Austin NewsGuild tweeted in response to the election results, which were delayed due to the winter storm last week. </p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Unofficial result is 36-12. The <a href="https://twitter.com/statesman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@statesman</a> is now a union paper.<br/>— Phil Jankowski 🦇 (@PhilJankowski) <a href="https://twitter.com/PhilJankowski/status/1364678508815900673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></div><p>The Austin NewsGuild announced in early December that they were taking steps to unionize, including submitting the required paperwork to the NLRB to request a union certification election at the Statesman. A secret-ballot mail election is only necessary when newsroom management declines to recognize the union voluntarily, as was the case with Gannett, the Statesman's parent company.<br/></p><p>"We respect the decision by our colleagues," Statesman Editor Manny Garcia said in a statement Wednesday. "We will continue to focus on our public service mission to serve our growing community." </p><p>The NewsGuild cited a need for stability in "an increasingly unstable industry, one plagued by budget cuts, layoffs, a lack of diversity and dwindling resources," according to a Jan. 9 news release. Its members pledged to advocate for increased staff positions, improved benefits, increased safety gear and anti-racist policies. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the NewsGuild's diversity committee sent a letter to management demanding a plan to revive the Spanish-langauge newspaper ¡Ahora Si!, diversify hiring and require implicit bias training, among other changes.<br/></p><p>NewsGuild members join journalists others across the country that have unionized newsrooms in recent years, including at the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune and the Arizona Republic.</p><p>The Dallas Morning News Staff <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/business/local-companies/2020/10/16/dallas-morning-news-newsroom-employees-win-election-to-form-union/" target="_blank">voted to unionize in October</a>, becoming the first newspaper in Texas to do so. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram staff announced it had unionized shortly after. </p><p>Like many of these papers, the Statesman has faced years of downsizing, hiring freezes and, most recently, furloughs during the pandemic. It has also endured a series of corporate handoffs—three in as many years.</p><p>Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises sold the Statesman to the New York-based publishing company GateHouse Media in 2018, after 41 years of ownership. In late 2019, GateHouse closed its <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/gatehouse-gannett-merger-is-official-creating-largest-us-newspaper-chain-2019-11-19" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">$1.1 billion takeover of Gannett</a>, becoming the country's largest newspaper company, and pledged to cut costs. (The company now goes by Gannett.) </p><p>Gannett laid off seven Statesman staffers, including veteran sportswriter Suzanne Halliburton and culture critic Joe Gross, in April. Three months later, the company <a href="https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2020/07/07/statesman-signs-lease-will-relocate-to-southeast-austin-site-next-year/113857298/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">signed a lease at MetCenter</a>, a corporate business park that the Statesman will move into next year. Its recognizable riverfront headquarters will be redeveloped. Last October, the company <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-american-statesman-buyouts" target="_self">reportedly offered employees voluntary buyouts</a>. Then, in January, Executive Editor John Bridges <a href="https://austonia.com/new-statesman-editor" target="_blank">announced his retirement</a> after 32 years with the Statesman last month. He was succeeded by Garcia, who previously worked at ProPublica. </p><p>According to the NewsGuild, more than 50 journalists have left the Statesman voluntarily or because of buyouts and layoffs over the last two years, representing a 40% reduction in newsroom staff.</p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">5/ We're not naive about the reality of our industry & know a union can't stop the shrinkage. But it can help protect our remaining staff & give us a voice in decisions about the future.<br/><br/>It will give our reporters an opportunity to fight for our readers & the coverage they need.<br/>— Austin NewsGuild (@AustinNewsGuild) <a href="https://twitter.com/AustinNewsGuild/status/1339292842569707522?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 16, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></div><p>Dr. Victor Pickard, a professor of media policy and political economy at the University of Pennsylvania, told Austonia in December that this push toward organizing is "a rare glimmer of hope in this really dismal landscape."<br/></p><p>Unions at legacy media companies, such as the Statesman, may help counterbalance publishers' singular focus on profit, which often comes at the expense of jobs. But unions alone won't insulate newspapers from a rapidly changing industry. Instead, Pickard said existing newsrooms need to transition to new business models—like the nonprofit Texas Tribune or <a href="https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2016/0112/Philadelphia-Inquirer-tests-new-model-with-nonprofit-and-for-profit-benefits" target="_blank">low-profit Philadelphia Inquirer</a>—that help lessen commercial pressures.</p><p>"If we don't do anything the market will just drive journalism into the ground," he said. </p><p><em>This story has been updated to include a response from Statesman Editor Manny Garcia. </em><br/></p>
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(Roschetzky Photography/Shutterstock)
In early February, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk told fellow Texas transplant Joe Rogan that Austin was the "biggest boomtown that America has seen in half a century."
Days later, thousands across the city had no access to running water or power as Winter Storm Uri devastated the region.
<p>The jury's still out on whether or not the record-breaking storm will impact the city's recent "Texodus," where thousands of Californians and tech companies began setting their sights on Austin. </p><p>Regardless, Austin felt like anything but the nation's most up-and-coming city as residents were forced to endure the cold in their powerless homes and search for drinkable water.</p><p>Austin and all of Texas could face a push-and-pull situation as the state decides whether or not to keep some of the policies that may have led to the tech boom in the first place. On one hand, lax taxes, low utility costs and more bang-for-your-buck real estate brought in Californians looking for a cheaper cost of living; on the other, Texans learned the hard way that "you get what you pay for" as city infrastructures failed and the power grid shut down, paradoxically, in the nation's most energy-rich state. </p><p>Austinite and Tech Crunch Senior Writer Mary Ann Azevedo said that while she isn't sure where the funding will come from, she hopes to see leaders turn toward the future and invest in city and state infrastructures.</p><p>"One would hope but if the past is any indication, we are unlikely to see many changes," Azevedo said. "However, if enough noise is made and change is demanded, then perhaps we will see some changes in terms of investing in updating current infrastructure. Where those funds will come from remains to be seen as it's highly unlikely we'll get state income taxes."</p><p>On Friday, Azevedo saw for herself the devastating effects of the storm on an unprepared city. While in the process of rationing bottled water and hoping for her faucets to once again turn on, Azevedo wrote an <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2021/02/19/will-the-texas-winter-disaster-deter-further-tech-migration/" target="_blank">article for Tech Crunch</a> pondering the question: could this storm set back Austin's recent tech migration?</p><p>Azevedo asked the public in a <a href="https://twitter.com/bayareawriter/status/1362548529525358593?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1362548529525358593%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Faustonia.com%2Fr%2Fentryeditor%2F2650727978publish" target="_blank">tweet</a> to which she received mixed responses.</p><p>Some agreed that the storm was a historic event that Texas could have never properly prepared for. Because of the community's resilience and teamwork, some saw the event as a story of coming together more than the failure of the city or state.</p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">What I saw here in Austin was community coming together<br/><br/>Neighbors helping each other. Taking in friends and strangers. Local restaurants stepping up, even after a year of a pandemic crisis.<br/><br/>I've lived here my entire life, it's the community that makes it great, always will<br/>— Mark Magnuson (@MarkMagnuson) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkMagnuson/status/1362765552171814917?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></div><p><br/></p><p>Others saw it as a moment of reflection for city and state infrastructure as the economy looks to make up for lost time.</p><p><br/></p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">I hope businesses put pressure on politicians to ensure that the infrastructure of TX is sound. The lost productivity over the last several days and potentially into the future is huge, not to mention the lost of life and trauma. (Oh & our offices flooded due to a main break.)<br/>— Kate Moon🇺🇸 (@Katemooooon) <a href="https://twitter.com/Katemooooon/status/1362563173010657283?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></div><p><br/></p><p>A few outsiders looking in agreed that they would or had avoided Austin because of its location in Texas in the first place.<br/></p><p><br/></p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">I'm not a founder, but I chose to move from SF to Portland, OR rather than Austin precisely BECAUSE Austin (the great city that it is) is located in the state of Texas. 🤷🏽♀️<br/>— Debra J. Farber (@privacyguru) <a href="https://twitter.com/privacyguru/status/1362551399834263553?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></div><p><br/></p><p><br/></p><p>Winter Storm Uri may have brought communities together, but it also brought questionable Texas leadership national attention, including U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz's decision to <a href="https://austonia.com/ted-cruz-cancun" target="_blank">travel to Mexico</a> during the crisis. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also faced the spotlight after it was revealed that he <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/02/22/ken-paxton-utah/" target="_blank">traveled to Utah</a> in the midst of the storm.</p><p>Some said the state's power failure could look costly for companies who may choose to be under different leadership after the storm.</p><p><br/></p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Startups & Tech don't want to have to build out their own utilities in addition to the rest of their infrastructure. Until Texas solves this energy incompetence they will take a pass.<br/>— Clayton Slaughter (@schmubba) <a href="https://twitter.com/schmubba/status/1362745156794019848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></div><p><br/></p><p>Of all who answered, Azevedo said she found most thought the winter storm would make no difference on the "Texodus," but she's not so sure that's rooted in logic.<br/></p><p>"Mixed reactions, but the majority of people here in Austin and Texas seem to think it will have little to no impact," Azevedo said. "And as many people pointed out, each region has natural disasters that impact them in one way or another. But I think it's a bit unrealistic to think this won't be a turnoff for some."</p><p>To Azevedo, the disaster may not take away all of Austin's current allure, but it's likely that some will see the city in a new light after Winter Storm Uri.</p><p>"It's tough to say but I do think it does make Austin a little less appealing," Azevedo said. "Here we are supposed to be the next 'boomtown,' yet last week so many of us were either out of power or water, or both—largely due to aging infrastructure on poor decision-making on the part of our leaders. It's not the best look."</p><p>Although the power and water failure may not be the greatest advertisement for prospective tech companies, some such as Tesla, Oracle and Samsung have already taken root in Austin. Azevedo said that these companies are undoubtedly unhappy with the situation but likely won't be leaving anytime soon.</p><p>"They chose to base their headquarters, build factories or large campuses here for reasons and they will likely stand by those decisions still," Azevedo said. "However, if any of those decision-makers had to endure what many of us did last week, I can imagine it was disappointing and a bit of a reality check."</p><p>The hard freeze is over, but Winter Storm Uri's rippling effects will likely be seen for weeks or months. It's hard to say whether that will make Austin, Texas a "boomtown" no more.</p>
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