Friday, April 19, 2024
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Hospital volumes for COVID-19, in Hood County and throughout the region, are rapidly increasing as available ICU beds are decreasing, according to an update issued Thursday afternoon (Aug. 12) by Hood County Emergency Management Coordinator Jay Webster.
Hospital volumes increased 44% compared to one week earlier, he stated.
Regionally, there were only two newborn intensive care unit (NICU) beds available and just 74 adult ICU beds available at the time Webster issued his update at about 2:30 p.m.
Every seven days Hood County is seeing a 38.1% increase in the use of ICU beds for COVID-19 patients – a “big increase” since the last report issued on Aug. 5, Webster noted.
Hood County has seen seven new COVID 19-positive deaths over the last seven-day period, bringing the total for the county to 143, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS).
There were 19 local hospitalizations, and 137 active cases at the time Webster issued his report.
The county had seen a more than 86% increase in COVID-19 cases over the past week, Webster stated, but the numbers reflected a decrease of 51.59% from his Aug. 5 report. At that time, the county had 112 active cases, which represented an increase of almost 138% over a week’s time.
The county’s TSA Regional Hospital rate as of Thursday was 17.09%, which was 2.09% over the 15% threshold required by the state.
The local Public Health Authority, in accordance with CDC and DSHS recommendations, encourages vaccination by everyone eligible, including those 12 and older, mask wearing by those who have not been completely vaccinated against COVID-19 (including children over the age of 2) and social distancing.
For myths and facts about COVID-19 vaccines, visit: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/facts.html.
For answers to frequently asked questions about the Delta variant, go to: https://www.dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus/variant-faqs.aspx.
