To protect hospitals from overwhelming surges of patients, Texas has started to backtrack on its reopening plan amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In an executive order announced last Friday, Gov. Greg Abbott reordered bars to close, scaled back restaurant capacity and halted certain elective surgeries, while COVID-19 hospitalizations were at a record high.
Dr. Philip Huang, director of the Dallas County Health and Human Services Department, told Texas Standard host David Brown on Wednesday about the challenges his county faces when it comes to COVID-19 hospitalizations.
“The hospitals have been preparing for much more surge capacity, but if we continue to see the rates of increase that we’ve been seeing, then we’re really in a very critical situation,” Huang said.
What you’ll hear in this segment:
– What the current hospitalization rates are for Dallas County
– Why hospitals are in critical need of personnel right now
– How broader mask ordinances can help with reopenings
Web story by Sarah Gabrielli.
