Large events in Austin not likely through end of 2020, officials say

Large events like the Austin City Limits Music Festival or Texas Longhorns football games are not likely through the end of the year as the coronavirus pandemic continues, Austin Public Health officials said Wednesday.

“The large events are the first thing that we turned off and are going to be the last thing we’re going to turn back on because of that risk of exposing lots of people to one another, particularly individuals of the same household,” Austin-Travis County Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott said.

Austin is currently in Stage 3 of its reopening plan, which allows low-risk people to gather, shop and dine out in groups of 10 or fewer.

Escott said the city would have to move into Stage 1, the safest level of the plan, to consider large events again. In Stage 1, high-risk residents would have to avoid gatherings of 25 people or more. The size of gatherings for low-risk people during Stage 1 has not yet been determined.

Read more: https://www.statesman.com/news/20200520/large-events-in-austin-not-likely-through-end-of-2020-officials-say