US Texas COVID-19 cases set new record as governor halts business reopening

AFP

US state of Texas reported almost 6,000 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, setting a new record for daily confirmed cases for the third time this week.

As of Thursday, there have been 131,917 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state, 5,996 more cases than that of Wednesday. According to Texas Health and Human Services. The state added 5,551 and 5,489 new cases on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

Earlier on Thursday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced the temporary pause of any further reopening of the state's economy in responding to the recent continuous increase of COVID-19 cases and hospitalization.

The governor also issued an Executive Order to suspend any elective surgeries in some area in Texas to ensure hospital bed availability for COVID-19 patients.

"As we experience an increase in both positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, we are focused on strategies that slow the spread of this virus while also allowing Texans to continue earning a paycheck to support their families," said Abbott.

The governor repeatedly urged people to follow the state guidelines to slow down the spread of the pandemic.

"I ask all Texans to do their part to slow the spread of COVID-19 by wearing a mask, washing their hands regularly, and socially distancing from others. The more that we all follow these guidelines, the safer our state will be and the more we can open up Texas for business," he added.

In Houston, the biggest city in Texas, the public transportation provider METRO approved an order on Thursday requiring all passengers, employees and contractors to wear face covering.

The order extended to METRO vehicles, facilities and transit centers, local media reported. METRO said it will provide masks to passengers in need while riding the system or entering its facility.

According to the order, on METRO's buses and trains, hand sanitizer is provided and protective shield around driver's seats will add another layer between drivers and riders.

As hospitalization for COVID-19 patients continues to climb in Houston, Texas Medical Center, the largest medical district in the world, said all ICU beds in the center are now occupied, with 28 percent taken by COVID-19 patients.

Hospitals in the center said they are going to move some ICU patients to beds that are not normally used for intensive care.

Alarming though, CEOs from four Houston hospitals said on Thursday the systems are ready to handle the increase of hospitalization.

During a press conference, the CEOs of Houston Methodist, Memorial Hermann Health System, St. Luke's Health and Texas Children's Hospital said they are concerned about the increasing number of COVID-19 cases. However, the hospitals in the Texas Medical Center are equipped to deal with a surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations.

"We have plenty of capacity," local TV station Click2Houston quoted Dr. David Callender of Memorial Hermann as saying.

The CEOs said they have a sustained surge protection plan in place, meaning beds in other rooms could be used to house patients if it becomes necessary, said the report.