July 10, 2020 / Associated Press
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Worsening coronavirus trends in Texas again set another grim milestone Thursday as the state reported more than 100 deaths in a single day for the first time, making this the deadliest week of the pandemic in what has rapidly become one of America’s virus hot zones.
In addition to 105 new deaths, Texas also reported a new high for hospitalizations for the 10th consecutive day, and the rolling rate of positive tests inched closer to nearly 16% — the highest in the pandemic yet.
“I gotta tell you, I think the numbers are going to look worse as we go into next week,” Republican Gov. Greg Abbott told Houston television station KRIV.
The bleak numbers, and uncertainty over when a reversal might come, has hospitals across Texas amplifying calls for more staff and scrambling to make room for new COVID-19 patients filling beds. In Weslaco on the Texas-Mexico border, an emergency room has already set up a medical tent outside with 20 beds, but hospital officials warned that far more are needed.
“We really needed a 1,000-bed field hospital from the federal government yesterday,” said Wesley Robinson, the assistant chief nursing officer of the South Texas Health System.
