Texas sees record number of COVID-19 hospitalizations for the fourth day this week
Texas hit a record level of patients hospitalized with the novel coronavirus Friday, reaching a new all-time high for the fourth day this week.
On Friday, the Texas Department of State Health Services reported 2,166 Texans hospitalized with COVID-19 — an increase of 158 patients from the 2,008 hospitalized Thursday.
Texas previously saw record levels of COVID-19 hospitalizations this week, with 1,935 patients on Monday, 2,056 on Tuesday and 2,153 patients on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, John Wittman, a spokesman for Gov. Greg Abbott, wrote in email that “every Texan who needs access to a hospital bed will have access to a hospital bed.”
Friday, DSHS reported roughly 14,000 available hospital beds, about 1,500 intensive care unit beds and more than 5,800 available ventilators.
Hospitalizations have been trending upward since late May, and have increased by 43.3% since the 1,511 patients hospitalized on Memorial Day. Before this week, the previous record for hospitalizations was on May 5 when 1,888 patients were hospitalized.
In Tarrant County, hospitalizations have also been on the rise — although the county’s dashboard only reports data from hospitals that have reported in the last 24 hours, meaning that not all hospitals may be included each day.
COVID-19 Hospitalizations over Time
Coronavirus daily hospitalization counts in Texas and the larger Trauma Service Areas, beginning April 8, 2020. Data provided by Texas Health and Human Services.
Abbott has raised the possibility of reinstating temporary bans on elective medical procedures to increase hospital capacity if needed, and in interviews with local television stations Friday afternoon, he stressed that currently Texas has sufficient capacity.
Chris Van Deusen, a spokesman for DSHS, wrote in an email Friday that hospitals have plans in place to surge both capacity and staff as needed.
“The state has identified alternate care sites that can be called upon, if needed, to relieve pressure on hospitals by treating patients who could safely be released to another setting,” he wrote.
On Wednesday, Texas reported a single-day high of 2,504 new coronavirus cases, dwarfing the previous high by 555 cases. Officials have attributed a rise in cases, in part, to an increase in mass testing in hot spots like prisons, nursing homes and meat packing plants.
Public health experts have said that a rise in cases is not entirely unexpected as businesses reopen and more people begin to venture out and gather. However, they stressed that Texans still need to wear masks, socially distance and take precautions.
Meanwhile, the state continues to move forward with its reopening plan, with restaurants allowed to increase their capacity to 75% Friday.
This story was originally published June 12, 2020 at 4:21 PM.
