AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- An alternate care site at the Austin Convention Center will be ready to open Tuesday, but officials say it won't be needed yet - if at all.
The field hospital aims to ease the burden on area hospitals, taking patients that don't need critical care.
Austin Public Health officials say the site is set up with tents, beds, facilities, and supplies for an initial 100 patients. The site could scale up to hold as many as 1,500 patients, officials have said.
The decision to set up the alternate care site was made weeks ago, at a time when new hospitalizations were on an upward trajectory. "You had to make the decision about whether or not to stand it up four weeks ago, and four weeks ago we were on a tremendous trajectory," Austin Mayor Steve Adler said.
Health officials and Adler both agree that it's far too early to breathe a sigh of relief, but hospitalizations have plateaued in recent days. Adler touched on that in his "Got A Minute" series Monday night, emphasizing the need for Austinites to not let their guard down. "The real test of character in a city is whether a city can maintain that discipline when you can't see the virus," Adler said. "When you're not screaming up, when your ICUs are not in danger, when your hospitals are not in danger."
