The threat of COVID-19 prior to its confirmed arrival in the Austin area led to the issuance of a local disaster declaration on March 6, 2020, and the cancellation of South by Southwest for the first time in its history.

Restrictions on gatherings and dining establishments and other mandatory protocols were issued by the municipal government and became more stringent in March 2020 following the first confirmed cases of COVID-19 and the ensuing rise in the disease's prevalence.

By the end of March 2020, a stay-at-home order had been issued, along with associated social distancing guidelines and operations changes affecting numerous Austin businesses.

[4] Although the first reported cases were contemporaneously confirmed in the Wuhan, Hubei, China, on December 31, 2019,[5] a later study conducted by the Genetic Institute at the University College London indicate a possible origin as early as October 2019 via zoonosis.

[11] On January 22, 2020, APH tweeted that it was coordinating with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the State of Texas to monitor and respond to any local outbreaks of COVID-19.

[24][25] Conference organizers anticipated that SXSW would continue as planned with increased sanitation stations; Mark Escott of APH stated that there was "no evidence" that cancelling the event would "make the community safer.

[50] A stay-at-home order was issued on March 24, 2020, directing the closure of non-essential state businesses and prohibiting gatherings of any size outside of a single household through April 13, 2020.

[57] On March 31, 2020, APH reported that 28 students of the University of Texas at Austin tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 after returning from a spring break trip to Cabo San Lucas.

[3] In April 2020, Governor Abbott announced the planned expiration of statewide COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, to be followed by a reopening of Texas businesses in a series of three stages of relaxed restrictions.

[71] Although Mayor Adler and County Judge Eckhardt criticized the reopening's commencement as occurring too quickly, the local "Stay Home, Work Safe" order for Austin was modified to accommodate the Phase 1 relaxations on May 1, 2020.

[84][85] In June 2020, the incidence of COVID-19 cases in the Austin area increased sharply in what some local media outlets and health officials termed a "second wave" of the disease.

[3][89][90] Dr. Escott of APH attributed the surge to a combination of the reopening of businesses and "an increase in risk-taking behavior" related to social distancing and personal hygiene, with Memorial Day events being a possible catalyst.

[99] The White House Coronavirus Task Force on June 30, 2020, presented a graphic showing the Austin metropolitan area as having the highest seven-day average rate of positive COVID-19 tests in the country.

[108][109] On July 14, 2020, in his capacity as the interim Austin–Travis County Health Authority, Escott issued an order outlining individual behavior rules and instituting restrictions on schools.

[111][112][113] The numbers of new cases and hospitalizations declined steadily, with Escott reporting a 12 consecutive days of improving COVID-19 metrics as the city's SARS-CoV-2 positivity rate fell below 10 percent by July 28, 2020.

[117] On August 5, 2020, the Travis County Commissioners Court approved the expansion of the Health Authority's emergency rules to unincorporated areas with violations subject to fines of up to $500.

[118] On August 14, 2020, the City of Austin extended its face covering, social distancing, and gathering restrictions—now collectively part of the Stay Home, Mask and Otherwise Be Safe Order—through December 15, 2020.

[131] Following rises in ventilator and intensive care unit usage as well as hospitalizations overall in October 2020, modelling from the University of Texas of Austin indicated a possible increase in the prevalence of COVID-19 towards Thanksgiving.

[133] A decline in hospital admissions in late October tempered these initial forecasts, but still pointed towards a worsening of the pandemic in the coming months continuing past Christmas.

[145][146] Mayor Adler was criticized for hosting a wedding reception in Downtown Austin and vacationing in Cabo San Lucas despite urging people to stay home.

[147][148] An anticipated rise in cases following Thanksgiving began to materialize in mid-December 2020 during a period that APH called a "stage of widespread community exposure".

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed suit against the City of Austin and Travis County on December 30, 2020, over the legality of the local ordinance.

[154][155] The Texas Supreme Court enjoined enforcement of the ordinance, granting Paxton's petition for writ of mandamus and preventing Austin from carrying out the restrictions.

[162] Escott stated the next day that he believed the increased caseload and positivity rates was due to the spread of a new contagious variant of COVID-19 in the Austin area.

[174] Tom Noonan, the president and CEO of Visit Austin, estimated that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism in the spring of 2020 was nine times worse than the September 11 attacks.

[178] Although restaurants were considered essential businesses, safety regulations prompted by the pandemic nonetheless disrupted their operation, implementing capacity limitations and changes to service protocols.

[185] Some bars in Austin had their operating licenses suspended after the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission began enforcing COVID-19 safety rules in June 2020.

Its cancellation was described by the New York Times as "the largest collateral damage of the virus so far on the international cultural calendar", and a significant economic blow to the City of Austin and local businesses was anticipated in its aftermath.

[213] The Stand With Austin charity fund was started by Mayor Steve Adler, County Judge Sarah Eckhardt, and State Senator Kirk Watson to provide patronage for businesses suffering from SXSW's cancellation.

Businesses in the Red River Cultural District also began a fundraising drive, Banding Together, to support impacted artists, events, and venues.