On Wednesday, Mayor Steve Adler of Austin, Texas, said in a video posted on YouTube that he regrets traveling to Mexico in early November as he was telling people to be cautious about the spread of Covid-19.
“The first week of November, my daughter got married here in Austin, and like many other brides, she had to cancel her original plans in order to follow the rules, and instead she had a small mostly family, very private wedding,” Adler said. “Afterward, a small, mostly family group traveled to Mexico.”
“I want you to know that I regret that travel. I wouldn’t travel now. I didn’t over Thanksgiving, and I won’t over Christmas, and no one should. Everyone should be avoiding non-essential travel now because we are in the orange area,” Adler added.
According to the city’s website, Orange is Stage 4 on the Austin Public Health (APH) color-coded chart. The risk-based guidelines set out five stages of risk, from the lowest threat, Stage 1, through the most serious, Stage 5.
The color chart is published to help residents of Austin-Travis County understand the stages of risk and provide recommendations on what people should do to stay safe during the pandemic.
“Now, I fear that the travel that I did, which took place during a safer period, followed the color-coded rules, could lead to some taking riskier behavior now,” Adler said in the video.
At the time, Austin was under Stage 3 health recommendations, which meant people were advised to avoid social gatherings more than 10 people, but there were no restrictions or recommendations made on avoiding non-essential travel.