Dozen delta variant cases confirmed in Austin area; latest COVID spike straining hospitals
At least a dozen cases of the delta variant, a highly contagious mutation of the coronavirus, have been confirmed in the Austin area in a third wave of COVID-19 cases that is straining local hospitals and prompting federal health experts to toughen mask guidelines.
Dr. Desmar Walkes, Austin-Travis County health authority, urged people Tuesday to continue wearing masks in public spaces, regardless of their vaccination status — always when indoors and outdoors whenever social distancing cannot occur — and to get vaccinated if they hadn't already.
"The spread of this is straining our hospital systems," Walkes said about the delta variant. "With every 100 cases of COVID-19 that we have, there is one person who will die from COVID-19. And that is one person too many."
Walkes' statements came just hours before the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday reversed course and urged fully vaccinated people to go back to wearing masks indoors, especially in places where the disease could easily spread.
"The delta variant is showing every day its willingness to outsmart us and be an opportunist," CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Tuesday. "In rare occasions some vaccinated people infected with the delta variant after vaccination may be contagious and spread the virus to others. ... This new science is worrisome and unfortunately warrants an update to our recommendations."
Walkes told Travis County commissioners Tuesday that the delta variant continues to be responsible for a rapid rise in local hospitalizations and new cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. However, a lack of rigorous testing for the variant at the state and local levels have made it impossible to determine how widespread, beyond the 12 confirmed cases, the delta variant has become, she said.
"We are happy to see that the CDC is recommending what Austin and Travis County health leaders recommended last week to our community," Austin Public Health officials said in a statement Tuesday. "We will continue to follow any and all CDC guidelines to help protect our community."
Higher risk level
Austin Public Health last week moved Austin and Travis County into Stage 4 of the agency's risk-based guidelines, which calls for every resident, regardless of vaccination status, to wear masks in public spaces.
It also means partially vaccinated or unvaccinated people should no longer shop, dine or travel unless it is essential, according to the Austin Public Health guidelines.
The guidelines range from the lowest threat of coronavirus spread at Stage 1 to the highest at Stage 5. They have been used for more than a year to help residents understand the level of risk to the community, while offering guidelines on how to avoid transmitting or contracting the disease.
More:Austin-Travis County recommends masks, moves to Stage 4 of COVID rules
Austin Public Health uses the moving seven-day average of new daily admissions to the hospital for COVID-19 to determine the stages of risk. The threshold to trigger Stage 4 is when the average of daily new hospital admissions is between 30 and 50.
The weekly average for daily admissions as of Tuesday was 42.
Masks for schoolchildren
The CDC on Tuesday also recommended indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students and visitors inside schools from kindergarten to 12th grade, regardless of vaccination status, USA TODAY reported. Those recommendations aligned closely with the American Academy of Pediatrics, which recommended this month that anyone over the age of 2 be required to wear a mask in school.
The Texas State Teachers Association, in response to those new guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics, called Tuesday on Gov. Greg Abbott to withdraw his prohibition on mask mandates and allow individual school districts to require them if recommended by local health leaders.
Abbott in May signed an executive order stopping schools and local governments from imposing mask mandates. In his orders, Abbott said masks could only be required at state-supported living centers, government-owned or operated hospitals, Texas Department of Criminal Justice facilities, Texas Juvenile Justice Department facilities, and county and municipal jails.
"If Gov. Abbott really cares about the health and safety of Texas students, educators and their communities, he will give local school officials and health experts the option of requiring masks in their schools," a statement from the Texas State Teachers Association said Tuesday.
Both the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics are still urging children to return to full-time in-person learning in the fall, USA TODAY reported Tuesday.
The Texas Department of State Health Services on Tuesday reported 4,982 people in the hospital for COVID-19 statewide — twice as many patients as two weeks ago and the most since March 4.
But in Travis County, where 292 people were in the hospital for COVID-19, state data showed that about 72.4% of county residents 12 and older have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. Of those, about 62.9% are fully vaccinated.
To get more people signed up for a dose, Austin Public Health is now offering $25 gift cards from H-E-B grocery stores to anyone who receives a vaccination at one of the agency's clinics.
The person will be asked to complete a survey about COVID-19 vaccines before getting the gift card, Austin Public Health Director Adrienne Sturrup said Tuesday.
USA TODAY reporters contributed to this article.