Gov. Greg Abbott pauses Texas’ reopening, bans elective surgeries in four counties to preserve bed space for coronavirus patients
For a second time since the start of the pandemic, Abbott banned elective surgeries to preserve bed space for coronavirus patients. But this time the hold on the nonessential procedures is only in effect for Bexar, Dallas, Harris and Travis counties.
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Gov. Greg Abbott pauses Texas’ reopening, bans elective surgeries in four counties to preserve bed space for coronavirus patients
by Sarah R. Champagne, The Texas Tribune
June 25, 2020
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Gov.Greg Abbott announced Thursday morning that he will pause any further phases of reopening businesses in Texas and that he is once again putting a stop to elective surgeries to preserve bed space for coronavirus patients in certain countiesthat are seeing a surge of COVID-19 cases.
Abbott’s latest action does not reverse any of the reopening phases he’s already allowed — meaning that bars, restaurants, malls, bowling alleys and other businesses can still remain open with some occupancy limitations. Restaurants can operate at 75% capacity, and virtually all other businesses, including bars, can operate at 50%.
“The last thing we want to do as a state is go backwards and close down businesses, ” he wrote in a Thursday press release, but the “pause will help our state corral the spread.”
The latest ban on elective procedures applies to Bexar, Dallas, Harris and Travis counties, which have seen a rapid increase inthe number of patients hospitalized with the virus.
Just Tuesday, Abbott stressed that hospital capacity in Texas was “abundant.” A day later, he acknowledged in a TV interview that capacity issues in some parts of the state “may necessitate a localized strategy.”
Statewide, the number of hospitalizations has reached record highs for two weeks, soaring to 4,739 on Thursday morning and tripling since Memorial Day. On Wednesday, the state had1,320 availableintensive care unit beds and nearly 13,000 available hospital beds, but with regional disparities.
In hard-hit areas, some hospitalshave begun moving coronavirus patients from crowded ICUs to other facilities, and local leaders have warned that hospitals could get overwhelmed if the number of infections keeps climbing. In the greater Houston area, the Texas Medical Center said Thursday that its intensive care units have reached 100% of base capacity. The center has said that once those beds are filled, its hospitals and care facilities can create an additional 373 ICU beds for “sustained use”and add another 504 temporary ICU beds for significant surges in COVID-19 cases.
Marc Boom, head of the Houston Methodist hospital system, said last week,“Should the number of new cases grow too rapidly, it will eventually challenge our ability to treat both COVID-19 and non-COVID 19 patients.”
On Thursday, Texas Medical Center leaders said the center is not in immediate danger of exceeding bed capacity. During a joint news conference, Boom said it does “have the capacity to care for many more patients.” David Callender, CEO of Memorial Hermann Health System, said officials there are used to “making adjustments on the fly.”
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