COVID-19 update
Travis County has reported a pretty big jump in coronavirus patients recently in need of an ICU bed. This morning there are 404 people hospitalized in total, 136 of them are now in the ICU. 4,411 active cases out of 48,424 confirmed and 43,481 people have recovered.
Brian Manley contracts COVID
Austin’s police chief has contracted COVID-19. Reports show Chief Brian Manley emailed the department about his infection and has been in self isolation since last Wednesday. This comes as APD staffers and police officers alike start getting access to the COVID vaccine today. Earlier this month, some members of other area first responders agencies like Austin Fire and Austin Travis County EMS received the vaccination earlier than expected. That’s in part due to a partnership with UT Dell Medical.
APD vaccines
Starting today, all Austin Police Department officers are able to get the coronavirus vaccine and that is weeks ahead of expectations for the department. Officers will be getting the Moderna vaccine; it’s not known if civilian employees may be part of the vaccinations as well.
First responder vaccines
Many first responders in Williamson County have been getting their COVID vaccines for a little more than a week now. The county says staff from the 15 fire departments started getting vaccinated over the weekend. Some long term care facilities were also included in the vaccines and total. More than 120 doses were given out in Williamson County over the weekend.
Austin walkin utility payments
If you make use of the city of Austin’s walkin utility payment centers, you will have to find another option for the time being. The city says it has closed all walk in payment locations until further notice due to a rise in COVID cases. Payments can still be made online or by phone and also being accepted at most HEB, Fiesta and Randalls stores as well.
Holiday COVID rise
With one more major celebratory holiday on the horizon, doctors remain concerned about more COVID spikes. Dr. John Carlo, who serves on the Texas Medical Associations. COVID-19 Task Force says hang on.
“The good thing we have to be thinking about right now is that we’re receiving thousands of vaccines. I mean, they’re coming in, they’re on their way. We see the light at the end of the tunnel, we’ve just gotta hang on a little bit longer. And so absolutely this next week, this is the time to really double down on all the things that we know that we need to do to protect ourselves,” says Carlo.
He, like others, is worried about what the COVID numbers will look like next month.
Dennis Bonnen contracts COVID
Texas House figure Dennis Bonnen and his wife both tested positive for coronavirus. Bonnen says his symptoms were mild, and his wife is dealing with “difficult but manageable” symptoms. He says he’s not sure where the exposure occurred, since he says he’s been following state health recommendations since March.
Texas – Mexico border economy
The Texas border with Mexico is still closed to non-essential travel, and that comes at a time when one of the busiest shopping months of the year for the Texas economy. George Keleman, who has the Texas Retailers Association, says border businesses rely on Mexico to fuel their bottom line.
“It’s definitely been tough on those stores that operate along the border. They count on that cross border customer traffic for sure,” says Keleman.
A new study done at Rice University found the closure of the border to non-essential travel between March and November had a $4.9 billion economic impact.
Pflugerville Library curbside suspended
Curbside service at the Pflugerville Library has been suspended because Travis County is in Stage 5 on the COVID risk chart. The library will continue accepting returned items, but all of those materials will be put in quarantine for two full weeks.
DPS might take command of APD
Governor Greg Abbott has continued to make waves this month with his proposal to strip the City of Austin over its authority over police. Terry Keel, who formerly served as both a state representative and Travis County sheriff, says all control would be removed from the Austin Council, even budgeting.
“Those tax dollars would be taken and appropriated by the Texas Department of Public Safety Safety Commission, and they would actually appropriate the budget each year for the Austin Police Department,” says Keel.
Even though APD would go under the direct command of the DPS Director, Keel says the citizens of Austin would see no visible change. He says patrols would remain in place and uniforms would look exactly as they do now.
This news and more on News Radio KLBJ:
https://omny.fm/shows/klbjam-flash-briefing-1/am-newscast-12-28-20
