Photo by Roschetzky Photography
Mayor Steve Adler says they are seeing improvement as the city works to combat the crisis. He believes there is an opportunity to revamp and improve their testing efforts as well as expand on current ones.
“We’re also doing some additional testing at construction sites to learn more about them. We were out at two construction sites last week on Thursday and Friday,” Adler says.
Of the construction workers they have tested, 8% came back positive.
2,345 cases of coronavirus now confirmed in Travis County, 74 have died. The number of recoveries has increased by 44 in just the past day. Austin Public Health says 826 have now overcome the virus. The number hospitalized has increased up to 93.
Debate over whether or not the private sector should be operating is among the biggest divides in Austin right now. Many say that divide has become increasingly partisan. Travis County Health Authority, Dr Mark Escott says it’s important to remember that we have to make progress one way or the other, both economically and in terms of public health.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a Democrat, Republican, state government, local government. You have to care about both things,” Escott says.
The issue of face coverings is also very divisive. Escott thinks it’s ridiculous that anyone would argue that being mandated to where one would be a violation of civil liberties.
Today Texas Bar and Nightclub Alliance is encouraging members to do a soft reopening between 6 p.m and 10 p.m. Austin bar owner Bob Woody told KLBJ this week this opening is not including the public. It will let employees get acquainted with all of the changes that will be required of them once bars are finally allowed to reopen.
An Austin company is developing a new body temperature detection system that sounds an alarm if a reading is above 99.5 degrees. Athena Security President Michael Green tells CBS Austin they were previously working on infrared concealed gun technology, but the focus now shifted to the pandemic.
“This is a very accurate device so that people can quickly walk through and accurately get a temperature. So you know if there’s any possible symptoms. It works very quickly within 1/16 of a second,” Green says.
Capital Factory is the first company in Austin to use this new tech. Green says he thinks it would also work great in places like schools, stadiums and offices,
13 coronavirus patients in Williamson County are hospitalized out of the 442 cases that have been confirmed since March. 19 deaths have also been reported, but 249 have recovered. Officials announced new testing availability for any county resident with or without symptoms.
Some public offices will open in Round Rock on Monday, including the public library, the municipal court lobby and the utility building lobby. Even though the court lobby will open, no hearings will be held until next month. The rec center will open on Monday at limited capacity and with modified hours.
As Round Rock prepares to open things on Monday, the City of Georgetown will be reopening some parks today. Also the City Hall lobby, the municipal complex and the terminal at the Georgetown Municipal Airport will reopen. The city says it will shut them back down if safety protocols are not being followed.
Budget talks are underway in the Leander School district. Virtually every district is having to navigate the still uncharted waters of COVID-19’s long term impact. Chief Financial Officer Elaine Cogburn says losses are projected.
“Revenues are projected at $355.5 million and then in expenditures we are seeing and projecting quite a bit of budget savings,” Cogburn says.
The largest portion of that savings are coming from payroll. With budget talks also come discussions about tax rates. The district is projecting a property tax rate decrease from this current year, but rising property values may still end up having you pay more next year.
The Cedar Park Regional Medical Center has gotten approval from the Texas Economic Development and Tourism Office to become an enterprise zone. Mayor Corbin Van Arsdale says this designation allows the medical center to use state sales tax funding to expand and to purchase needed materials. The City of Cedar Park also is very optimistic that even more private resources may be invested.
This news and more on News Radio KLBJ:
https://omny.fm/shows/klbjam-flash-briefing-1/am-newscast-5-15-20
