As COVID surges, Abbott extends ban on elective surgeries to over 100 Texas counties
Gov. Greg Abbott extended his ban on elective medical procedures to over a 100 more counties Thursday as the state sees an all-time high in the number of patients hospitalized with the novel coronavirus.
To ensure hospitals have sufficient capacity to treat a surge in COVID-19 patients, Abbott issued a proclamation requiring hospitals throughout West, Central and South Texas to postpone surgeries and procedures that aren’t medically necessary to correct a serious medical condition or to preserve the life of a patient. The extended ban goes into effect at 11:59 p.m. Friday. Procedures that would not deplete hospital capacity needed for COVID-19 patients are exempt.
Abbott listed counties by trauma service area — 22 regions across the state that are overseen by regional advisory councils that develop plans and processes for trauma care. Trauma Service Area E, which includes Tarrant County, was not listed on Thursday’s proclamation.
Among the counties added Thursday, the ones closest to the Dallas Fort-Worth area include Hills, Bosque, Limestone, McLennan and Falls.
Two weeks ago, Abbott announced he was suspending elective surgeries for the second time over the course of the pandemic — but initially only in four of Texas’ largest counties: Bexar, Dallas, Harris and Travis. Less than a week later, he expanded the ban to the counties of Cameron, Hidalgo, Nueces and Webb in the Rio Grande Valley.
“The State of Texas continues to implement strategies to help ensure ample supply of hospital beds for COVID-19 patients,” Abbott said in a statement. “By expanding this directive to include the counties within these 11 TSAs, we are freeing up more resources to address upticks in COVID-19 related cases.”
Hospitalizations reached an all-time high of 9,610 Wednesday. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, there are currently 11,575 available beds, 1,017 intensive care unit beds and 5,288 available ventilators.
In the Dallas-Fort Worth region, there are a total of 1,809 hospitalized COVID-19 patients and 2,451 available beds, 296 intensive care unit beds and 1,226 available ventilators.
Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley has said Tarrant hospitals can add another 2,300 beds if necessary, but experts have warned if cases continue to grow at such a rapid pace, then hospitals will reach their base capacity in a matter of weeks.
Rajesh Nandy, an associate professor of biostatistics and epidemiology in the UNT Health Science Center’s School of Public Health, has been studying Tarrant County’s data on hospitalizations, cases and mobility over the course of the pandemic.
He issued a report last Friday that found if the current growth rate persists and COVID-19 hospital admissions remain unchanged, then it would take approximately another 16 days for Tarrant County hospitals to reach current maximum capacity.
Texas also saw its deadliest day Wednesday, with 98 COVID-19 related deaths reported. Citing the recent rise in hospitalizations, Abbott said it’s likely more may be coming.
“One death is one death too many. But 98 obviously is way too many,” Abbott told KXAN-TV in Austin Wednesday night. “But when you look at the number of people who have been hospitalized over just the past couple of weeks, you can see that there may be more fatalities coming. What we need to do, is we need to take action now.”
To curb the recent surge in cases, Abbott also mandated face masks in most public places across Texas, shut down bars and reduced restaurants’ capacity to 50%.
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.
This story was originally published July 9, 2020 at 1:58 PM.
