Texas hits all-time high of patients hospitalized with COVID for sixth day in past week
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include new hospitalizations for Sunday.
On Sunday, Texas hit an all-time high of patients hospitalized with the novel coronavirus — the sixth day in the last week that hospitalizations have broken records.
According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, 2,287 patients were hospitalized Sunday with COVID-19 — an increase of 45 patients from the previous records of 2,242 on Saturday.
DSHS reported 2,331 new COVID-19 cases Saturday — the second-highest number of cases reported in a single day. Texas hit a single-day high of 2,504 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday.
In the last seven days, Texas has seen record levels of COVID-19 hospitalizations six times, with 1,935 patients on Monday, 2,056 on Tuesday, and 2,153 patients on Wednesday. Hospitalizations dipped down slightly on Thursday to 2,008 and went on to hit records with 2,166 patients on Friday and 2,242 patients on Saturday.
Hospitalizations have been trending upward since late May, and have increased by 51.35% since the 1,511 patients hospitalized on Memorial Day. Before last week, the previous record for hospitalizations was on May 5, with 1,888 patients.
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.
Officials have emphasized that despite the recent increases in hospitalizations, Texas has sufficient capacity to meet any demands. Sunday, DSHS reported over 14,600 available hospital beds, more than 1,500 intensive care unit beds and more than 5,800 available ventilators.
Gov. Greg Abbott has previously raised the possibility of reinstating a temporary ban on elective medical procedures to increase hospital capacity if needed. Chris Van Deusen, a spokesman for DSHS, wrote in an email Friday that hospitals have plans to increase both capacity and staff.
“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.
The rate of positive cases has trended upward since late May. Officials have attributed that rise, in part, to an increase in mass testing in hot spots like prisons, nursing homes and meat packing plants.
Both state leaders and public health experts have said a rise in cases is not entirely unexpected as businesses reopen and people begin to gather more. However, they emphasized the need for Texans to still continue to abide by social distancing guidelines and wear face masks to help limit the spread.
A recent study worked on by researchers from Texas A&M University and UT Austin found that wearing a face mask is one of the most effective ways to prevent the transmission of COVID-19.
Citing the time it takes for cases to double, the infection rate and available hospital beds, Abbott told KYTX-TV in Tyler on Friday afternoon that there’s “no real need for us to ratchet back on the opening up of business.”
Ultimately, Abbott said, it’s up to individuals to decide whether they venture out.
“It’s incumbent upon every individual in Texas to make sure that they are doing all they can not to either get or transmit COVID-19 as we do open up the economy,” Abbott said. “You have your own control upon whether or not you will be getting this disease.”
Meanwhile, the state continues to move forward with its reopening plan, with restaurants allowed to increase their capacity to 75% on Friday.
This story was originally published June 13, 2020 at 5:07 PM.
