Are we still headed toward Stage 4? Austin-Travis County health leaders answer COVID-19 questions

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin Public Health and Travis County leaders are expected to give a media Q&A at 10:30 a.m. Friday.

Dr. Desmar Walkes, the local health authority, and Dr. Adrienne Sturrup, the interim APH director, along with other APH officials, will give updates on the state of the pandemic locally.

Last week, leaders said we could be moving rapidly toward Stage 4 risk-based guidelines. Though case numbers in schools and Labor Day weekend spread could reverse that progress. Today, we could learn whether we're still on the course to fewer restrictions.

Friday's briefing also comes exactly two weeks before the start of Austin City Limits Festival. The COVID-19 protocols for ACL are still relatively unclear. The event draws swarms of people from all over the country to Zilker Park.

As of the current data posted on the Austin-Travis County COVID-19 dashboard Thursday, 537 people remain hospitalized with COVID-19 in our area right now, 229 people are in an ICU.

The death toll in Austin-Travis County is now at 1,042. Just last week, the area hit the grim milestone of surpassing 1,000 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

We will carry the live stream of the briefing in this story and on KXAN's Facebook page. This story will also be updated shortly after the stream ends.

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