The Austin Daily Drop

Austin COVID hospitalizations , while continuing to rise, may be slowing somewhat - deaths have also not begun to rise significantly so far. News on booster shots for immunocompromised people is expected soon. Tens of thousands of area school kids - all in districts not mandating masks - start classes today, while AISD reports hundreds of students switching from virtual to live classes as a result...

Hospitalizations for COVID in Austin continue rising, as the metro hits a new all-time low for ICU capacity: 2 staffed beds. Austin ISD is joined among school districts in major Texas cities defying Governor Greg Abbott's ban on mask requirements by conservative-leaning Fort Worth ISD - all five of the state's largest cities have now revolted - while Eanes ISD remains mask-optional amid heated div...

AISD officials declare masks to be mandatory this school year, in defiance of an Executive Order from Governor Greg Abbott. AISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde gives CNN a tour of local school precautions. Local new hospitalizations surpass the peak of the summer 2020 wave and threaten to pass that of the more severe winter spike . Austin remains at 6 ICU beds for the entire metro area. Austin...

National news outlets take note of the "dire" COVID situation in Austin, including the New York Times , CBS News , and The Guardian . We've now exceeded the 7-day average metrics in both new COVID hospitalizations and new cases of the peak of the first spike last summer, and set a new low for ICU availability - 6 beds for the entire metro - while younger people and pregnant women account for ever...

Austin officially enters Stage 5 COVID precautions , and they look different than last time. Researchers at UT predict new record highs in ICU COVID demand. New pandemic precautions from the TEA are limited at best, while most Austin families say they'll tell their kids to mask up at school . Local music venues and musicians begin enforcing their own precautions - shows this weekend at ACL Live wi...

Local COVID-related hospitalizations continue their vertical ascent, while statewide new cases are at their highest clip ever. Long waits at City-run COVID testing centers lead to accusations of inequity . Dell delays plans for a return to in-office work, while the Kerrville Folk Festival announces a vaccine mandate. Pflugerville leads the area in new COVID cases, while a positive test in a young...

COVID stats continue rising - local health officials are modifying Stage 5 recommendations in advance of rolling them out, Travis County has again suspended live jury trials , and Williamson County's Justice Center is now requiring masks. Save Austin Now succeeds in forcing a fall public vote on Austin police staffing minimums. Local prosecutors accuse APD officers of neglecting to make arrests fo...

Local COVID-related hospitalization numbers have climbed well into Stage 5 range as of last weekend - the City is mulling what an official Stage 5 declaration might look like. ICU beds are rare , non-COVID patients are having trouble getting admitted , and a new and troubling trend emerges: severe cases among unvaccinated pregnant women . A City commission recommends that APD halt citing or arrest...

Austin is right on the cusp of Stage 5 COVID precaution range - our highest level of alert - and are likely to cross into it with tonight's new stats, while local ICU conditions reach their worst state of the entire pandemic so far. Vaccinations and testing remain major areas of effort for the City. APD officer Andy Traylor , a highly respected veteran of both APD and the U.S. Navy, has died of in...

Austin's COVID hospitalizations continue to climb and are now just short of Stage 5 range , while intensive care capacity in the metro is almost gone - 13 ICU beds available for the entire city as of last night. Austin City Council approves further research into returning cars to busy party nights on 6th Street , and greenlights a new development on city-owned property at IH-35 and St. John's . Au...

Austin area COVID hospitalizations continue skyrocketing - we are on track to hit Stage 5 range by this weekend. More major employers in the Austin area have begun imposing vaccination requirements on employees, a trend that continues accelerating. Austin U.S. House Rep Chip Roy moves to adjourn House business over its requirements of masks indoors, but is voted down. The impasse between the major...

The spike in local COVID hospitalizations accelerates - we are well on our way to Stage 5 territory - but the State is unmoved , and will not allow cities or school districts to require masking , while also refusing to fund virtual options for Texas school districts, thus AISD's new plans for remote K-6 will be on their own dime . Pandemic concern about gatherings builds in Austin's sports and liv...

As local COVID hospitalizations continue to climb, AISD reconsiders plans for an all-in-person fall semester. The City announces a list of seven finalists for the permanent job of Chief of the Austin Police Department. As UT confirms plans to depart the Big 12 for the SEC, State officials convene to consider the move's impact upon other Texas college sports programs. A Texas swimming commit scores...

Local COVID numbers continue climbing - city and county officials are expected to announce the return of Stage 4 precaution guidelines today. AISD and Round Rock ISD make announcements regarding plans for the approaching fall semester. Hot weather returns, and so do concerns about the Texas power grid - will it be able to keep up? ERCOT says yes , but watch for more conservation warnings . Propose...

The Rolling Stones reschedule their pandemic-upended Austin date and tickets are on sale now . Local doctors call the incoming COVID wave - in the presence of widely-available vaccines - "astonishing and disheartening" and encourage the hesitant to reconsider, as they now make up 99% of all COVID deaths since February. Any modification of behavior will be up to individual Texans to adopt - Governo...

The local COVID situation continues developing rapidly as health officials warn of the "imminent" return of Stage 4 recommendations - all Austinites, vaccinated or not, are now advised to mask up - and confidence in a safe return to school in the fall is now undermined. Breakthrough cases , pediatric cases and those among young adults are all rising with the continued spread of the Delta variant....

Local COVID numbers continue to build momentum - Travis County's hospitalization average has broken into Stage 4 territory and Williamson County has declared "red phase" - it's highest level of warning. Researchers at UT predict dire consequences should we fail to react to the new surge, and a sixth Democratic lawmaker sheltering in D.C. has tested positive. Save Austin Now succeeds in pressing a...

A reversal of progress against the coronavirus pandemic spurs a return to Stage 3 precautions in Austin - even as our hospitalization numbers continue rising towards Stage 4 range - leading some back to a policy of using masks in indoor settings , though the City cannot enforce such guidelines under State limitations. Five of the Texas Democrat lawmakers sheltering in Washington D.C. have tested p...

The Texas Legislature kicks off the first of two expected special sessions with partisan rancor already dialed up. While Travis County hits 70% vaccinated , local health authorities warn that the Delta Variant may render that figure insufficient. Another fatal shooting this week, which resulted from a conflict at a Cedar Park H-E-B , as Austin's murder rate continues to climb - burglaries are up t...

Governor Greg Abbott announces 11 priorities for the special session of the Texas Legislature, which starts today - and raises eyebrows by leaving the ailing Texas power grid out , instead prioritizing a second shot at voting access limits , banning the teaching of critical race theory , and limiting sports options for transgender schoolkids . As Austin hits 70% of adults having received at least...

A June church camp in Giddings results in a mass COVID outbreak . Governor Abbott wants more coal, nuclear and natural gas power for Texas - and wants to punish providers of renewable energy. An Austin man set to stand trial for his part in the January 6 insurrection dies in a motorcycle crash . The City still doesn't have a site for people experiencing homelessness to camp, as the deadline for ci...

We're back! While vaccination numbers are looking great in the Austin area, many parts of Texas and the U.S. continue to lag behind . The Fourth of July weekend in Austin saw the successful return of downtown fireworks , but also damage from illegal personal fireworks , yet another shooting on Sixth Street and multiple injuries on area lakes , including one drowning. APD response times to 911 call...

Good COVID news as Travis County approaches the "herd immunity" benchmark of 70% vaccinated - bad COVID news as the Delta Variant begins to take hold across Texas, a threat to parts of the state where vaccinations are less widespread. Austin U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett is filing legislation that would allow Texas cities and counties to bypass the State and take advantage of expanded Medicaid...

The first Texas power grid scare of the summer ends, just as summer officially begins with a threat of storms and heat indexes around 110 . Governor Greg Abbott follows through with his threat to defund the Lege . Beto O'Rourke and Texas Democrats address a crowd of For The People Act supporters at the Capitol. Juneteenth sees controversy over an insensitive city-owned marquee message in Llano , w...

Having signed "Constitutional Carry" into law earlier this week, yesterday Governor Greg Abbott signed a slate of additional gun-related laws including the legalization of silencers and the forbidding of Texas authorities from observing any new Federal gun restrictions. A San Antonio area prison has been cleared to make room for immigrants expected to be detained as part of a new border enforcemen...