The City of Austin has issued a ban on community gatherings of 250 people or more at least until May 1. This includes parties, weddings, religious gatherings, funerals, sporting events, etc.
A violation of the order is punishable by a fine up to $1,000 or 180 days in jail. City code inspectors and fire marshals are expected to enforce.
Indoor areas like auditoriums, theatres, conference centers, and restaurants are included in the ban. But the order does not apply to indoor areas divided into multiple enclosed spaces, such as an office space divided by cubicles, or different rooms of a school building.
View the full text of the mayor’s order here. Additional updates:
- No further confirmed cases were reported Saturday in Austin.
- Austin Public Health is conducting contact tracing on “hundreds of people” who may have had contact with the city’s only 3 confirmed cases to-date.
- Texas had 51 confirmed cases as of noon, not including quarantined repatriation cases. Brazoria, Dallas, and Montgomery counties report cases of possible community spread.
- Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell declared a local state of disaster. Though no cases have yet been reported in the county, he says it will help protect the vulnerable.
- Baylor Scott & White opened a drive-thru coronavirus testing clinic near The Domain. It is open to the general public, but visitors must first complete a screening questionnaire.
- H-E-B cut its store hours from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m to allow more time for restocking of shelves.
