Austin city leaders discuss protestors demands
Today, the Austin City Council will discuss Austin Police Department tactics and protester demands. Austin Justice Coalition’s Chas Moore says in addition to demanding Chief Brian Manley be fired along with the officers who killed Mike Ramos. They also want to see some APD budget dollars go elsewhere.
“At least 70 million to go to COVID relief because believe it or not, I know it doesn’t look like it if you go outside, but we’re still in the middle of pandemic, which means that a lot of us are still not working and a lot of us are still not able to pay bills and pay rent and utilities,” says Moore.
Moore says the city should also send APD dollars to other programs he feels would better serve needs like mental health services.
Case goes to the grand jury months after Mike Ramos’ death
Travis County District Attorney’s office said this week it was sending the Mike Ramos shooting case to the grand jury. Ramos was killed by police officers back in April, but some say the case is not moving quickly enough. District Attorney Margaret Moore tells FOX 7 it’s not unusual for this kind of investigation to take months.
“However, in this case it only took a matter of weeks. The delay in presenting to a grand jury is out of my control because of COVID-19.”
Ramos was found to be unarmed after he was killed, and his death is one of the driving factors here behind the local protests. There have been rumors of a curfew being imposed in Austin for days, and now Police Chief Brian Manley has indicated it’s an idea that may be gaining traction. Manly tells the Statesman he’s been evaluating the possibility along with the city manager, especially as more protests are planned for the weekend. The curfew could limit the number of people who are there to commit crimes instead of protest peacefully,
Local businesses need customers now more than ever
All businesses will be allowed to increase capacity soon in Texas, but with the private property damage that’s been stemming from riots, business owners are really not sure what to expect. Shelley Meyer owns a handful of businesses downtown and tells KXAN that the combination of the virus and the protests has really added to the uncertainty.
“If we’re going to survive, we need customers and we need them soon. So anything that delays customers coming in our door is a concern,” says Meyer.
Others say they rely heavily on tourism, which has already been really impacted badly by coronavirus.
Protesters at risk of contracting COVID-19
Health officials worry as the close contact of protesters continues. Austin Public Health is urging anyone who’s attended a protest to self monitor for COVID-19 to get tested if possible. Thousands of people have been packing into crowds for almost a week, many not wearing masks. Even while wearing a mask, the risk of infection is very large in a crowd of that size.
Phase three of reopening to start next week
Governor Greg Abbott is shifting the state into phase three of reopening. That includes a big jump in capacity across all sectors. Speaking with CBS 11 in Dallas, Abbott says, pretty much everything is opening next week.
“Restaurants get to go to 75%. Bars go to 50%. Amusement parks to 50%,” says Abbot.
Restaurants can expand table sizes to 10 people beginning June 12th. As of this week, most businesses that have been operating a 25% capacity are now allowed to bump that up to 50% capacity.
COVID-19 update
Travis County’s COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to hover in the high 90s. This morning, 98 are hospitalized and 95 have died. Ventilator usage is still very low. 3,501 cases have been found in Travis County since March 13. 80 of those are recoveries.
Austin health leaders say some fear that the actual COVID infection count is 7-8 times what they’re seeing showing up in tests. Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott says that actually could be good news.
“If that infection rate is true then our infection fatality rate drops from 1.7% overall to about point to 2.3%,” says Escott.
The lower death rate is certainly reassuring, but he says those with underlying health problems are still very much at risk of infection and death.
Williamson County’s hospital system continues to hold steady. As of this morning 50% bed capacity is available. 78% of its ventilators are also unused at the moment. 25 people have died in Williamson County, but 424 have made recoveries. As of this morning, county health officials report 200 active cases.
This news and more on News Radio KLBJ:
https://omny.fm/shows/klbjam-flash-briefing-1/am-newscast-6-4-20
