Photo by Roschetzky Photography
Homelessness and COVID-19 in Austin
AUSTIN, Texas – The Ending Community Homelessness Coalition gives an update on the homelessness situation during the COVID-19 crisis. ECHO’s Matt Mollica says the standard homeless shelter operation and COVID-19 is a bad mix. To fix that, they are moving those seeking shelter to hotels and motels better equipped to keep people apart. That does come at a cost in helping the homeless.
“Many behavioral health services, substance treatment services and mental health services are best provided face-to-face. It becomes really difficult for our population to use telehealth or accessing those services,” says Mollica.
They are seeing worsening mental health symptoms in some due to social distancing.
If you’ve noticed abnormally large piles of trash building up in homeless camps across Austin, it’s because neither the city nor TxDot are performing routine cleanings. Right now, all camp cleanup stopped when the stay-at-home orders were implemented. There is no current timeline for when those cleanings may resume.
Travis County has flattened the curve
Austin Public Health says the number of new cases has plateaued and hospitalizations have remained flat. Officials say the hospitalization number can sometimes appear inflated if patients have longer than normal stays. Officials are still urging people to stay at home.
The problems continue to mount for Austin area nursing homes. Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott says almost 500 of Travis County’s cases have been found in a nursing home or long term care facility.
“A total of 83 new cases for these clusters this week. 473 total cases between staff and residents,” Escott says.
Five previous nursing home clusters have now been inactive for three weeks.
Williamson County COVID-19 update
One facility in Round Rock has found 101 positive cases, including 68 residents in 33 staffers.
A woman in her nineties who passed away this week is now the 20th coronavirus death in Williamson County since the pandemic began. The county has confirmed a total of 501 cases and 276 recoveries. Williamson County’s hospital system has 53% available bed space and 64% of ventilators are still available.
Front line workers face the threat of COVID-19 every day. In Williamson County, a sixth EMS employee tested positive. Almost two dozen more tests are still pending. Williamson County EMS says it wants to test every paramedic on staff for the virus itself. This month, the county also approved new antibody testing for all first responders.
COVID-19’s effect on the real estate market
The Central Texas real estate market is starting to show the wear and tear of the pandemic. Romeo Manzanilla with the Austin Board of Realtors tells CBS Austin home sales are down 33% in the city.
“It’s a whole supply and demand issue,” Manzanilla says. “We’ve seen that pent up demand and reduction in inventory, and what we’re seeing is increased prices.”
The median price for April climbed by 12.3%. Tven with fewer homes available and higher costs, the average home on the market still sold about nine days faster than one year ago.
Airport passenger traffic dropping
The plunge continues for airport passenger traffic through Austin. March traffic dropped by more than 52% compared to March of last year. March is almost always one of the busiest months of the year for Austin because of South by Southwest. Austin has seen 13% fewer passenger traffic.
Texans to vote by mail in coming elections
Texas Democrats won another victory in court in favor of allowing all Texans to vote by mail. US. District Judge Fred Biery says citizens should have the option of choosing voting by letter carrier versus voting with disease carriers. Texas Democrats have victories in state court on appeal and now in federal court.
“A person who is not immune to the coronavirus is someone who is in danger if he or she goes to vote in person,” says Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilbert Hinojosa.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton disagrees with the decision. His spokesman, Mark Rylander, says they will immediately seek review by the fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
This news and more on News Radio KLBJ:
https://omny.fm/shows/klbjam-flash-briefing-1/am-newscast-5-20-20
