Photo by Roschetzky Photography
The City of Austin and Travis County extend the shelter-in-home orders until May 8th. Mayor Steve Adler says they’ve added on to the new order by requiring folks to wear a face mask, be it a bandanna or medical.
“Anybody that’s leaving their home that is going to be around anyone else other than people in their household should wear a face cover. Wearing a face cover doesn’t protect you from getting the virus. It does significantly increase the chances that if you have the virus, you’re not going to give it to somebody else,” Adler says.
This order still carries the weight of law, but is hoping you and your neighbors can police that yourselves. If not, he warns, the city may have to take stricter action. Violation of that order could cost you $1000 in fines and six months in jail.
Governor Greg Abbott gives a peek at his plan to reopen the Texas economy. He says there will be a team guiding it, and it could include certain businesses opening up before others.
“Ensuring that what we’re doing is consistent with data with medical analysis as well as strategies about which type of businesses will be able to open up,” Abbot says.
The governor says this will not be free for all, as it has to be done well, considering COVID-19 and the safety of everyone. He is pledging to release that plan outline later on this week.
$50 million worth of loans is being made available to small businesses in Texas hit hard by coronavirus. Goldman Sachs President John Waldron says they’ll offer up that money as part of their $550 million national relief effort.
“They will provide urgent cash flow assistance and are designed to be partially or wholly forgiven if necessary criteria are met,” says Waldron.
Applications are now being accepted. The loans, which are a component of the federal paycheck protection program, are intended to prevent layoffs and maintain payroll.
11 people in Travis County have now died from COVID-19. Austin Public Health says there are 856 cases this morning, but a growing number of people are beginning to recover that number now up to 144. From the other 93 people currently hospitalized, 49 are in I.C.U. The first COVID-19 related death in Hays County has been confirmed. Officials say a woman in her eighties from Buda has died. 50 of Hays County’s 93 cases remain active; 42 have made recoveries and one person is in the hospital. Only two new cases of COVID-19 added on the Williamson County tally since yesterday. That number now stands at 119 with four deaths and 64 recoveries. In Bastrop County, no new confirmations of any kind. 27 cases there and one death though hundreds of people in Bastrop County remain under investigation for possible symptoms.
The ARCH homeless shelter in downtown Austin now has its first confirmed case of COVID-19. Greg McCormack, executive director for the nonprofit Front Steps which runs the ARCH shelter, tells Fox they have lessened the number of people allowed inside at night.
“They are around a lot of folks sometimes in these encampments in close quarters and have trouble isolating,” McCormack says.
The person who was infected, as well as everyone who had contact with that person, is now isolated at a nearby hotel.
The downtown Austin’s Salvation Army shelter is closed for cleaning, sanitizing and to rearrange beds to promote social distancing. Officials say that about a dozen people there have tested positive for coronavirus, and while the shelter is being cleaned, all people staying there have been placed in isolation elsewhere.
The Austin Convention Board addresses hotel occupancy. The latest numbers now show Austin has only a 3% occupancy rate for hotels, 2% less than it was last week. Typically, it’s closer to 80% in April. Rates are also down by 15% and the board says Austin may not rebound back to normal levels for several years.
Austin’s 60 -day grace period for rental properties may be a reprieve for tenants, but some landlords are really struggling to cover their own mortgage payments. Stuart Dupuy is one of them. He tells CBS Austin that if the problem continues for longer than expected tenants are gonna feel this.
“If I’m unable to pay my payments, and if I get foreclosed on by my bank, my tenants get evicted,” Dupuy says.
Only about 1/3 of his tenants so far have paid their rent for this month, and he’s worried both residential and commercial landlords may begin losing their properties. On Monday, the City of Austin will suspend all bulk trash and brush collection until further notice. That means large items like mattresses and furniture won’t be hauled away after this week. That news also comes as the Goodwill of Central Texas has announced that all donation and retail locations are closing temporarily, and no donations of any kind will be accepted.
https://omny.fm/shows/klbjam-flash-briefing-1/am-newscast-4-14-20
