Name: The rate of COVID-19 patients in North Texas hospitals just crossed Gov. Abbott’s red line
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The rate of COVID-19 patients in North Texas hospitals just crossed Gov. Abbott’s red line

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9:05 AM on Nov 27, 2020 CST — Updated at 5:26 PM on Nov 27, 2020 CSTNorth Texas crossed a critical threshold in the number of hospital patients fighting COVID-19 that could trigger bar closings and lower occupancies at stores and restaurants if such cases don’t decrease within a week.With more than 2,300 patients testing positive for the coronavirus in the 19-county hospital region, 15.05% of all beds were occupied by a person with COVID-19, according to state data.Hospitals had been approaching the 15% red line — set by Gov. Greg Abbott in October — for several days before the Thanksgiving holiday as the state continued to report of new coronavirus cases. On Friday, Texas reported 2,473 new cases and 51 new deaths — a drastic drop compared to recent results likely due to labs being closed for the holiday.Currently, most businesses in the area may operate at 75% capacity. But under , businesses will be forced to limit capacity to 50% if they are in a region where more than 15% of hospital patients have tested positive for the coronavirus for seven consecutive days. The rate must drop below the red line for one week before business capacity can rise again.“As the number of positive cases grows, our health care heroes need your patriotism and sacrifice,” said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins in a statement Friday. “Please put off get-togethers and avoid crowds to protect public health and the economy.”The 19-county region includes both Dallas and Tarrant counties as well as smaller counties, including Rockwall, Cooke and Hunt.A total of 8,518 people were in a Texas hospital Friday with COVID-19, the state reported. That’s about 2,400 shy of the state’s peak, set in July.Nine of the state’s 22 regions reported at least one day above the 15% threshold this week. And another hovered just below it Friday. The region that includes El Paso was by far the worst, with about 35% of all its hospital patients fighting COVID-19.Abbott on Friday tweeted a rosier outlook, highlighting that the rate of infected patients at El Paso counties had dropped for two weeks in a row, and the state’s positivity rate has been declining.Related:, Abbott rejected the idea of once again scaling back the economy statewide. Another shutdown would have a disastrous effect, he said. At the time of his comments — just eight days ago — six of the state’s regions were above the line.Some smaller hospitals are having a particularly difficult time managing the virus. Officials at a Rockwall County hospital — about 30 miles east of Dallas — said it was over capacity this week.As of Wednesday, 75% of the hospital beds were filled with COVID-19 patients, the Rockwall hospital officials said. The occupancy rate stood at 120%.“That means we currently have 72 patients needing one of our 60 beds,” wrote Cindy Perrin, president of Texas Health Hospital Rockwall, in a pre-Thanksgiving Day holiday letter to the community first reported by . “Hear our nurses and others who echo these sentiments all over the U.S. … I implore you to wear a mask, limit gatherings, wash your hands and behave responsibly.”Rockwall County has been slightly outpacing the rest of the North Texas region in hospital capacity. A map based on state data showed Rockwall’s limited hospital capacity far more strained than the larger counties. Rockwall is home to about 105,000 people, a fraction of the 7 million people who live in North Texas.Most counties are not reporting new testing or hospital data due to the Thanksgiving holiday. On Wednesday, Dallas County reported just 26 adult ICU beds available. The county bases that number off of data reported to North Central Texas Trauma Regional Advisory Council, an agency that helps hospitals coordinate across multiple jurisdictions and tracks data for the state.Here’s where the numbers currently stand.Dallas County will resume reporting new data Saturday. On , the county reported 1,368 new coronavirus cases and six more COVID-19 deaths.The county has logged 122,184 confirmed cases and 11,627 probable cases. It also has recorded 1,202 confirmed COVID-19 deaths and 29 probable deaths.Dallas County officials , noting that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention do not use that metric.In the 24-hour period that ended Tuesday, 764 COVID-19 patients were in acute care in hospitals in the county. During the same period, 508 emergency-room visits were for symptoms of the disease.Saturday’s numbers will include data processed on Wednesday evening, while Sunday’s report will include COVID-19 data from Thursday, Friday and Saturday.Tarrant County health officials will begin posting new data Sunday.On Wednesday, the county reported 1,302 coronavirus cases and three new deaths.The county has logged 95,989 cases, including 85,010 that are confirmed cases and 10,979 that are probable. Recoveries total 67,595. The death toll is 838.As of Wednesday, 812 people were hospitalized with the virus.The state added 271 coronavirus cases to Collin County’s total Friday, bringing its tally to 25,153. Three more COVID-19 fatalities also were reported, bringing the county’s death toll to 251.According to state data, the county has 3,057 active cases of the virus.The county’s coronavirus dashboard provides only total hospitalizations, which are at 260.In Friday’s report, Denton County announced 305 coronavirus cases.The county has recorded 22,789 COVID-19 cases, including 5,345 that are active and 17,296 that are recoveries. The death toll stands at 148.There were 137 COVID-19 patients hospitalized Friday, according to the county’s data. Nineteen percent of all hospital beds had a COVID-19 positive patient.The Texas Department of State Health Services has taken over reporting for these other North Texas counties. In some of them, new data may not be reported every day.The latest numbers are:Get the latest coronavirus updates delivered to your inbox by signing up for our exclusive newsletter.By signing up you agree to our

9:05 AM on Nov 27, 2020 CST — Updated at 5:26 PM on Nov 27, 2020 CSTNorth Texas crossed a critical threshold in the number of hospital patients fighting COVID-19 that could trigger bar closings and lower occupancies at stores and restaurants if such cases don’t decrease within a week.With more than 2,300 patients testing positive for the coronavirus in the 19-county hospital region, 15.05% of all beds were occupied by a person with COVID-19, according to state data.Hospitals had been approaching the 15% red line — set by Gov. Greg Abbott in October — for several days before the Thanksgiving...

The rate of COVID-19 patients in North Texas hospitals just crossed Gov. Abbott’s red line

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