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Austin-Travis Co. Health Authority releases new emergency COVID-19 rules

Rules also include guidance from Austin Public Health for school reopenings

AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin-Travis County Health Authority has released new COVID-19 emergency rules.

The new rules take effect on Aug. 14 and include Austin Public Health guidance for school reopenings. 

The school guidelines were created in collaboration with the school district and community leaders.

“Austin Public Health has been working closely with local school districts to develop detailed guidance so they can feel confident about school restarting,” said Austin Public Health Director Stephanie Hayden. “We used existing resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Texas Education Association to form the new rules and guidance document.”

The 53-page document outlines baseline actions in order to minimize the risk of exposure to COVID-19 for students, staff and families. 

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Some of the guidelines include:

  • Ensure ventilation systems operate properly and increase the circulation of outdoor air as much as possible.
  • Students and bus operators should perform a screening for symptoms and exposure daily before going to the bus stop or reporting to work.
  • Enable teachers and staff who identify as high risk to minimize face-to-face contact and allow them to maintain a distance of 6 feet from others, modify job responsibilities that minimize exposure risk, or to work remotely if possible.

“We hope that these guidelines may be used as a potential state-wide model to continue to provide education to our students as the pandemic evolves,” said Interim Austin-Travis County Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott. “We are optimistic that the Governor’s Office and the TEA will continue to review their position on school reopening and allow for more flexibility in terms of occupancy and school funding in order to ensure that we can maintain continuity of education.”

APH guidance for schools may be updated throughout the school year as new information becomes available.

For more information, APH has created a "schools and education" page on its COVID-19 website

WATCH: New TEA Guidelines: Texas schools can stay closed for 4 weeks

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