For the third day in a row, Texas recorded a record number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
There were 2,153 coronavirus patients in Texas hospitals on Wednesday, representing a 42% increase since Memorial Day. On Monday, the number of patients rose to 1,935, eclipsing the previous high of 1,888 reached on May 5.
Texas began lifting restrictions on its economy on May 1 when retail stores, restaurants, movie theaters, and malls were allowed to reopen at a limited capacity. On Friday, Texas is set to allow restaurants to expand their dining areas to full capacity.
The Lone Star State has more than 13,000 hospital beds available. It also has more than 1,500 intensive care unit beds and 5,900 ventilators available.
Gov. Greg Abbott said he was “concerned but not alarmed.”
Some public health experts have expressed concern that the reopening of the economy and a relaxing of social distancing restrictions is behind the increase.
“It was all about emphasizing opening up the economy,” Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “I don’t like predicting bad news and then having it to happen. There’s no satisfaction in this, but this was sort of predicted and predictable.”
According to the New York Times, 20 states and Puerto Rico have seen a recent increase in cases of the coronavirus.
