Texas virus hospitalizations hit record highs for a full week

AUSTIN, Texas -- Thursday marked the seventh consecutive day that Texas reported a record number of hospitalized coronavirus patients, with 2,947 people currently in hospitals being treated for Covid-19, according to data released Thursday by the Texas Department of State Health Services.

The latest seven-day average for the number of people hospitalized is 2,468. Since the beginning of June, hospitalizations have increased almost every day. There's almost twice as many people hospitalized because of the coronavirus than there was on Memorial Day.

Gov. Greg Abbott has said he's using hospitalization capacity as a metric, as he moves forward with plans to reopen businesses and peel back restrictions on gatherings during the pandemic.

Earlier this week, he called the state's capacity "abundant," and said officials are “laser-focused” on maintaining that level. Statewide, there are currently 1,400 beds available for intensive care and more than 5,000 ventilators.

The coronavirus has killed more than 2,000 people in Texas. The number of cases has also continued to rise. Over the past day, the state reported 3,129 new cases.

The average age of people diagnosed with Covid-19 is also decreasing slowly but steadily throughout the pandemic, said a DSHS spokesman, confirming information released by Hays County, and the cities of Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and Houston.