‘Grave concern’: New record 8,181 in Texas hospitals due to virus – leaders warn of lack of capacity
AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas reported 3,449 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 Sunday, after a record high of 8,258 Saturday.
State health officials also reported 29 additional deaths, bringing the totals to 2,637 fatalities and 195,239 confirmed cases.
A record 8,181 Texans with Covid-19 were hospitalized Sunday, which included a record 211 hospital patients in El Paso. The Sun City has seen a nearly 45% increase in a week and has more hospitalizations alone than in all of the state of neighboring New Mexico.
Leaders in Texas’ cities and counties now say the state’s continued surge in cases is testing hospital capacity.
Ten out of the 12 hospitals in Texas' Rio Grande Valley are now full.
"We are now at the point of grave concern," said Manny Vela, the CEO of Valley Baptist Health System, as hospitals in Hidalgo, Cameron and Starr counties divert patients away from their emergency rooms amid the crush of virus infections.
The city of Austin is within two weeks of having its hospitals overrun -- and its intensive care units could fill up within ten days, Austin Mayor Steve Adler told CNN's "State of the Union."
He wants Gov. Greg Abbott to empower local governments to order residents to stay home.
That sentiment was echoed by Judge Lina Hidalgo, the top elected official in Harris County, which includes Houston.
"Right now, folks need to stay home and I need the authority to enforce it," Hidalgo, a Democrat, said on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday.
Abbott's recent mandate ordering most Texans to wear masks in public will make some difference, but it's not enough, she said.
“We don’t have room for incrementalism, we’re seeing these kinds of numbers, nor should we wait for all the hospital beds to fill and all these people to die, before we take drastic action,” Hidalgo said.
In San Antonio, Alan Harris, president and CEO of Methodist Health Care System, said virus cases in its hospitals have more than quadrupled over the past two weeks — an increase that he called “unsustainable.”
Over the last month, the proportion of tests that come back positive for the virus has rocketed from about one in 10 to nearly one in four, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday.
The true number of cases is likely much higher because many people have not been tested and studies suggest that people can be infected and not feel sick.
