COVID-19 hospitalizations are continuing to climb across North Texas and the Lone Star state.
Texas hospitals are grouped not my metropolitan area but by regions called Trauma Service Areas. North Texas is in TSA E. According to state data released Monday, through Sunday, there were 5,278 patients in Texas hospitals fighting the 2019 novel coronavirus.
North Texas accounted for 1,424 of those patients through Sunday. On Monday, the DFW Hospital Council told NBC 5 that number had already climbed closer to 1,500, or about 13% of the patients currently admitted to TSA hospitals.
Stephen Love, with the hospital council, told NBC 5 that this is the highest number seen in North Texas since August and is at about 68% of the highest COVID-19 census in July.
"We need to stress wearing masks, wash hands, stay out of crowds and physical distance. We absolutely need to tap this virus down before winter," Love said.
Statistics for the DFW area shown above show TSA E as the area with the greatest number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. A sharp rise in cases in El Paso led to curfews and surge efforts that are expected to send patients from that area to other parts of the state where hospitals can better manage their care.
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In Tarrant County, nearly 500 people were hospitalized with the virus Monday, according to the county health department. Dallas County will release updated hospital statistics on Tuesday.
In Greyson County, which is part of North Texas' TSA E, there are more hospitalized COVID-19 patients than in Denton County. Dallas, Denton, Collin, Tarrant and Greyson counties account for 91% of all hospitalized COVID-19 cases in TSA E, Love said.
