Abbott pauses further reopenings, suspends some surgeries as COVID surges in Texas
Gov. Greg Abbott paused further reopenings of businesses Thursday and for the second time during the pandemic announced he was suspending elective medical procedures — but only in four of Texas’ largest counties — to respond to all-time highs in new cases and hospitalizations.
Businesses currently permitted to reopen under previous phases, like restaurants, bars and malls, can continue to operate at the designated capacity levels. The announcement is a change of course for Abbott who has previously pushed forward with reopenings, and is a signal of the worsening spread of the virus in Texas.
Under Abbott’s new executive order, hospitals in the counties of Bexar, Dallas, Harris and Travis shall postpone surgeries and procedures that aren’t medically necessary to correct a serious medical condition or to preserve the life of a patient. Procedures that would not deplete hospital capacity needed for COVID-19 patients are exempt.
The executive order goes into effect at 11:59 p.m. Friday, and Abbott may issue proclamations to add or remove counties from those affected.
“As we experience an increase in both positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, we are focused on strategies that slow the spread of this virus while also allowing Texans to continue earning a paycheck to support their families,” Abbott said in a statement. “The last thing we want to do as a state is go backwards and close down businesses. This temporary pause will help our state corral the spread until we can safely enter the next phase of opening our state for business.”
The pause on further reopenings comes three weeks after Abbott had announced the most recent phase of businesses allowed to reopen. Earlier this month, Abbott allowed nearly all businesses to increase their capacity to 50%, and restaurants were allowed to increase their capacity to 75% on June 12.
Abbott has faced pressure in both directions on the pace of his reopenings. Hardline conservatives have called on Abbott to more quickly reopen businesses in order to jump start the economy, and some North Texas counties have passed resolutions declaring themselves fully open for business. Meanwhile, Democrats have said rising cases need to decline first.
“Instead of listening to doctors and experts from day one, it took 13 straight days with rising hospitalizations, nearly overran ICU units, and over 10,000 new cases the last two days for Governor Abbott to finally listen to reason,” Abhi Rahman, a spokesman for the Texas Democratic Party, said in a statement Thursday. “Abbott’s mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic has led Texas into this mess.”
This week, Abbott struck a newly urgent tone. During a press conference Monday, he said the virus is now spreading “at an unacceptable rate,” but that closing down the stay “will always be the last option.”
Abbott has previously pointed to reinstating a temporary ban on elective medical procedures as one of the first steps to free up hospital capacity, and in television interviews Wednesday Abbott had floated the possibility of localized restrictions for harder hit areas. He also warned that if the virus’ spread is “not contained in the next couple of weeks it will be completely out of control and Texas will have to ratchet back.”
The Texas Department of State Health Services reported 5,996 new COVID-19 cases Thursday — a new single-day high and up 445 cases from Wednesday’s record of 5,551. The state also reported 47 new deaths, bringing the number of COVID-19 related fatalities to at least 2,296.
The state’s seven-day average infection rate also rose to 11.76% Thursday, according to DSHS. That’s the highest it has been since mid-April, and Abbott had previously said during a May 5 press conference that if the infection rate exceeded 10% for multiple days “that is a warning flag for us to keep track of.”
Hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients increased for the fourteenth straight day Thursday, with 4,739 patients hospitalized — an increase of 350 patients from the previous record of 4,389 hospitalized Wednesday. Hospitalizations have risen nearly every day of June and have more than tripled since the 1,511 patients hospitalized on Memorial 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.
Earlier this week, state leaders stressed that there remains an “abundant supply” of available beds, even as local officials warn of intensive care units nearing capacity in some regions, like Houston.
As of Thursday afternoon, the Texas Department of State Health Services reported 12,597 available beds, 1,322 intensive care unit beds and 5,778 available ventilators.
Abbott had previously suspended elective medical procedures in late March, and after a month had relaxed restrictions to allow some to proceed. Hospitals must reserve at least 15% of their capacity to treat COVID-19 patients.
Tarrant County was not included in the list of counties where elective procedures must be suspended. A spokesman for Abbott did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday as to why.
In Tarrant County, hospitalizations have been on the rise since early June, and at least 321 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized as of Wednesday, according to the county’s dashboard. Of the beds currently occupied, as of Tuesday 8% were being used by COVID-19 patients — reaching some of the county’s highest levels since mid-May.
The county only reports numbers from hospitals that have reported in the last 24 hours — meaning the data may not represent all hospitalizations in the area.
A new study released Monday from UT Southwestern Medical Center predicts a surge in COVID-19 cases in North Texas throughout the summer and into the fall — especially if residents follow social distancing guidelines even less. Over the next two weeks, the report predicts a 20% increase in hospitalizations.
“We want the people of North Texas to please not panic regarding the COVID-19 virus. The virus has created increased hospitalizations over the past two weeks, but we have capacity in North Texas in our hospitals,” Stephen Love, the president and CEO of the Dallas-Ft. Worth Hospital Council, said in a statement Wednesday.
In the Dallas-Fort Worth region, there are 3,113 available beds, 405 available ICU beds and 1,271 available ventilators, as of Thursday morning. There are 1,130 COVID-19 patients hospitalized, according to DSHS.
Of the patients hospitalized, roughly 35% are in ICU beds and in total they represent less than 10% of the region’s hospitalized patients, Love said. About 62% of the region’s ventilators are still available.
“While we acknowledge the COVID-19 hospitalizations have increased recently, we currently have over 5,200 available beds within our North Texas trauma service area, running approximately 69% hospital occupancy rate,” Love said.
This story was originally published June 25, 2020 at 9:41 AM.
