AUSTIN, Texas — As the delta COVID-19 variant rages, the situation has become so dire that Austin-Travis County this past weekend activated its emergency alert system in order to notify residents of the threat.

What You Need To Know

  • Austin-Travis County has activated its Warn Central Texas system

  • Residents were notified via text message and phone call about the largely unchecked spread of COVID-19

  • 510 people are currently hospitalized with the virus in the region and there are few available ICU beds

  • Texas on Sunday reported 5,740 additional cases of COVID-19

Messages from the Warn Central Texas system came via text messages, phone calls and emails. The messages alert residents to public emergencies and provide information safety information. This message urged the public to get vaccinated, wear masks and stay home if possible to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

“The situation is critical,” said Dr. Desmar Walkes Austin-Travis County Health Authority. “Our hospitals are severely stressed and there is little we can do to alleviate their burden with the surging cases. The public has to act now and help or we will face a catastrophe in our community that could have been avoided.”

The messages came after Austin-Travis County went to Stage 5 of risk-based guidelines, which includes the most stringent public health recommendations.

“Hospital bed availability and critical care is extremely limited in our hospital systems, not just for COVID-19 patients, but for anyone who may need treatment,” said Dr. Walkes. “The community has to come together again and stave off disaster.”

By this past weekend available ICU beds in Austin-Travis Co. had dwindled to single digits. The region most recently reported 510 people hospitalized with the virus, 184 of whom are in intensive care and 102 of whom are on ventilators.

Austin-Travis County has reported a total 92,361 cases of the virus since the outset of the pandemic and 903 deaths.

The state of Texas on Sunday reported 5,377 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, 363 new probable cases and 28 additional fatalities attributed to the virus. A total 9,027 Texans are currently being treated for the disease in hospitals.

If you live in the Austin-Travis County region and need information about vaccination or testing, visit www.AustinTexas.gov/COVID19 or call 3-1-1 (512-974-2000).