Texas has abundant hospital capacity to treat COVID-19 patients now and in the coming months, Gov. Greg Abbott said today.
At a press conference, Governor Abbott reminded Texans that COVID-19 still exists in Texas, and he encouraged people to continue to take precautions to prevent spreading the disease, such as washing hands, wearing facemasks, and maintaining safe distances when in public.
“This will continue to be the case for at least a few months, until we have medicines that treat people who get COVID-19 and medicines that prevent people from getting COVID-19,” the governor said.
According to state health officials, 2,518 confirmed COVID-19 patients are currently in Texas hospitals. The hospitalization number has exceeded 2,000 for the past eight days, exceeding the previous high of 1,888 set on May 5. There are almost 15,000 hospital beds and 1,675 intensive care beds available, state figures show.
“The increased occupancy of hospital beds does raise concerns, but there is no reason to be alarmed,” Governor Abbott said. “Even though there are still people hospitalized … we have plenty of room to expand beds, and there is the ability to use more hospital beds if needed.”
Governor Abbott said the state is better prepared to treat COVID-19 today than it was in March and April. That includes hospitals having more personal protective equipment (PPE) as well as medications such as remdesivir, which has shown promise in shortening hospitalization times in COVID-19 patients, he said.
Last Updated On
June 16, 2020
Originally Published On
June 16, 2020