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Shuttered and closed businesses on Sixth Street on March 21, 2020

Austin, Texas, reportedly confirmed its first cases on March 13, 2020, with the related onset of symptoms occurring as early as March 2, 2020. However, the disease may have reached the Austin area earlier. In an unconfirmed case, a 67 year old man in Bastrop, TX, traveled to Clovis, NM on December 21. He was hospitalized in Clovis on December 23, 2019, then transported via ambulance to Lubbock where he was placed on a ventilator. He declined rapidly and died on January 2, 2020. Though there was no testing available at the time, he exhibited classic symptoms of COVID-19. The first fatality associated with the disease was reported on March 27, 2020. As of January 21, 2021, the City of Austin (which reports its data in conjunction with Travis County) has reported over 50,000 cases of COVID-19, with 573 deaths associated with the disease.

The threat of COVID-19 prior to its confirmed arrival in the Austin area led to the issuance of a local disaster declaration on March 6, 2020, and the cancellation of South by Southwest for the first time in its history. Restrictions on gatherings and dining establishments and other mandatory protocols were issued by the municipal government and became more stringent in March 2020 following the first confirmed cases of COVID-19 and the ensuing rise in the disease's prevalence. Austin Public Health (APH) first reported evidence of community spread in the area on March 19, 2020. By the end of March 2020, a stay-at-home order had been issued, along with associated social distancing guidelines and operations changes affecting numerous Austin businesses. (Full article...)