1 in 4 patients hospitalized in North Texas has COVID-19, expert says
North Texas seeing staggering amount of COVID-19 hospitalizations
Tarrant and Collin County reported record new highs for the number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals Thursday. Statewide that number is also at a pandemic high of 12,268. FOX 4's David Sentendrey talked to a hospital leader who thinks it will get much worse soon.
DALLAS - North Texas is seeing a staggering amount of COVID-19 hospitalizations.
"This whole week, every day, we’ve seen incremental increase, increase, increase," said Steve Love, the president and CEO of the DFW Hospital Council.
Love said projections reveal a worsening outlook.
"All the models are pointing to the middle of January. We’re going to have a large volume of COVID-19 patients and we’re very concerned and very worried," he said.
More than 3,700 people in the 19-county North Texas trauma service region are currently hospitalized for COVID-19. There are only 55 ICU beds available in the region and Tarrant County specifically said its ICU beds are 98% full.
"One out of every four patients in our hospitals has got COVID-19," Love said.
And because more than 23% of hospitalizations are coronavirus patients, economic rollbacks listed in Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order are still in effect.
Regional bars are closed and restaurants, retail and other businesses have dropped from 75 to 50% occupancy.
The governor said in order to nullify those rollbacks, COVID-19 hospitalizations must dip below 15% and stay there for seven consecutive days.
"You know we probably would have to drop 5, 6, 700 patients," Love said.
But, by the way things are going, he thinks it will be a while before North Texas is below that threshold again, which is unfortunate for some businesses.
"I think you’re probably talking more like months," Love said.
North Texas Cases
Tarrant County on Thursday reported a daily pandemic high of more than 3,100 new confirmed and probable coronavirus cases. There were also 26 deaths.
Dallas and Denton counties combined reported more almost 2,300 new cases and 22 more deaths.
Texas also set a new daily high on the final day of 2020 with 349 COVID-19 deaths.