AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Austin and Travis County are extending their "Stay Home, Work Safe" orders in the wake of the coronavirus.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler and Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt announced the new orders in a Friday morning news conference.
"This virus is as infectious today as it was a month ago – it spreads quickly," Adler said. "Everybody should be minimizing physical interactions absolutely as much as they possibly can as we dip our toe to increase commercial and social interactions. That’s what this Order does."
The City's extended order runs through 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, May 30, while the county's extension runs through 11:59 p.m. on Monday, June 15.
Adler said the new orders are essentially identical to the previous orders that have been in effect, with the allowance for businesses that have been re-opened under Gov. Greg Abbott's statewide orders. "I think what’s remarkable about these new orders is that there’s not much remarkable about them," Adler said. "These orders are continuations in substance of our past orders. It still maintains the same structure."
Abbott's statewide orders supersede local orders where they conflict. For example, the new local orders continue to require people to wear face masks in public, though no criminal or civil penalties are in place to enforce the restrictions - in line with the state orders.
The orders continue to mandate that residents stay at home except for conducting essential business and activities, and travel to and from those essential businesses and activities. Social gatherings continue to be prohibited, along with maintaining 6 feet of social distance whenever possible.
The new order also encourages restaurants to maintain an activity log of contact information for all customers or employees who dine-in, in an effort to help with contact tracing. The order says without this information, the city may have to publicly release any locations where people with confirmed infections have visited.