Texas nursing home patients being treated for coronavirus with hydroxychloroquine
Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday that hundreds of thousands of masks, gloves and personal protective equipment have been delivered to the North Texas region. Meanwhile, in the Houston area, Abbott said roughly 30 Texas patients are being treated for the novel coronavirus with hydroxychloroquine — a drug whose use has yet to be determined through robust clinical trials.
More than 80 residents and employees have tested positive for COVID-19 at the Resort at Texas City, a nursing home on Texas’ Gulf Coast, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Abbott said Monday about 30 patients at the nursing home are being treated with hydroxychloroquine to determine its success. President Donald Trump has said the drug could be “one of the biggest game changers in the history of medicine,” and pushed for its immediate use. While trials are underway, its effectiveness is unclear.
“They are, for the most part, in their second day of this testing regimen that will last several more days. We look forward to updating you as the week progresses about how this drug is aiding or not these patients at the Medical Resort Texas City,” Abbott said from a Texas Department of Public Safety warehouse in Austin.
Abbott also touted the state’s supply of personal protective equipment, and in a presentation given during the press conference, said the state has distributed more than 1.6 million face masks, 209,000 face shields, 2.7 million gloves, 169,000 gowns and nearly 7,600 coveralls between March 27 and Sunday.
Supplies that come in through the state’s central warehouse are distributed to local Texas Military Department Armories and through the “Hospital Preparedness Program” regions based on personal protection equipment on hand and hospital bed capacity, Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd said.
In the Dallas-Fort Worth region, nearly 370,000 masks, roughly 56,650 face shields, 581,860 gloves, 53,260 gowns and 1,970 coveralls have been distributed over the last week, according to Monday’s presentation.
The state has also received 2.5 million face masks in the last 24 hours and will add an additional 3 million by Saturday, which Abbott said will be “more than enough for right now.”
Personal protective equipment is being prioritized for hospitals and health care professionals treating COVID-19 patients, long-term health care facilities like nursing homes and emergency personnel, Texas Department of State Health Services Commissioner John Hellerstedt said.
“I feel more confident now than I ever have with regard to access to PPE supplies,” Abbott said.
But Fort Worth-area nurses and health care workers told the Star-Telegram last week that personal protective equipment has been in short supply, and some have been instructed to use a single face mask for up to a week.
As of Monday, Abbott said there are 21,333 available beds statewide — including 2,223 intensive care unit beds, and 6,080 ventilators with an additional 7,350 anesthesia machines with vents that could be used.
State leaders have said the state’s capacity of hospital beds and ventilators is sufficient to combat a surge in COVID-19 patients, and have pointed to establishing pop-up facilities as a way to access extra beds.
In a letter Sunday to Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, Abbott’s chief of staff had threatened to move an overflow medical facility at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center away if officials didn’t confirm they needed the resources
In a letter in response on Monday, Jenkins refuted claims that officials would not use the facility and said that a call to Abbott’s cellphone was not returned.
“I checked, and according to my office, we’ve had zero inquiries or phone calls from the Dallas County judge ever with regard to COVID-19,” Abbott said Monday.
Abbott said that on a call with governors, Vice President Mike Pence and various federal officials that Dr. Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the White House coronavirus response, said mitigation efforts are working.
“She said that we are getting close to beginning to bend the curve, but also she made clear that if we let up now all of our efforts that have led us to this point will have been for nothing,” Abbott said.
In an effort to enforce travel restrictions that call for a mandatory 14-day self-quarantine, Abbott said the Texas Department of Public Safety has set up checkpoints at border crossings from Louisiana into Texas.
As of Monday afternoon, Abbott said in Texas there were at least 7,319 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Of those, 1,153 people are hospitalized, there have been 140 COVID-19 related deaths and more than 85,350 Texans who have been tested.
“We should easily this week exceed 100,000 in the number of Texans who are being tested,” Abbott said.
This story was originally published April 6, 2020 at 4:38 PM.
