Greg Abbott wants Texas hospitals to delay elective procedures

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Governor Greg Abbott on Monday announced new measures to tackle the coronavirus pandemic as it rages again in Texas, including asking hospitals to reschedule some elective procedures to free up space for COVID patients -19.

Yet the governor has not backed down on his refusal to institute new statewide restrictions on businesses or let local governments and schools impose masks or vaccines.

Instead, Abbott announced that he had written to the Texas Hospital Association asking hospitals to “voluntarily postpone medical procedures where delay will not result in death or deterioration of the patient’s condition.” As the coronavirus consumed the state last summer, Abbott took a more restrictive approach and banned elective surgeries in more than 100 counties before ending the ban in September.

Abbott also announced on Monday he was asking state agencies to open additional COVID-19 antibody infusion centers that aim to treat COVID-19 patients with therapeutic drugs and prevent them from requiring hospitalization. And he said the state Department of Health Services “will use recruiting agencies to provide out-of-state medical personnel to health facilities in Texas to assist with COVID-19 operations.”

It is a reversal for the state. In July, the state told cities and counties it would not send additional healthcare workers to help hospitals with the latest wave of COVID-19 patients, as it had done earlier in the country. pandemic. Instead, state officials said, city and county leaders should dip into $ 10.5 billion in federal stimulus to pay these workers if hospitals needed it.

In recent days, the main indicators of the coronavirus have reached levels not seen since the winter. Texas reported 5,377 new cases on Sunday and 9,027 hospitalizations a day earlier, both on a level comparable to the last increase in winter. The state’s positivity rate – the case-to-test ratio – stood at 18.4% on Saturday, well above the 10% threshold that Abbott identified as dangerous.

Vaccinations started increasing last month, although Texas continues to lag nationally in the percentage of people fully vaccinated, which stood at 44.4% on Saturday.

As part of Monday’s announcement, Abbott’s office said it was directing state agencies to “increase the availability of immunization statewide,” but did not provide more. details.

“Texans can help bolster our efforts by getting vaccinated against COVID-19,” Abbott said in the press release. “The COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective, and it is our best defense against this virus.”

Abbott’s office followed the announcement with another saying the state is extending the emergency supplemental nutrition program, or food stamps, for the month of August, aimed at helping families to feed during the pandemic. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission is providing “about” $ 267 million in benefits for the month, according to the governor’s office.

The office’s first announcement showed no change in Abbott’s refusal to take further statewide action regarding masks, vaccines or business closures. He also doesn’t hesitate to refuse to let local governments or other public entities, like schools, demand masks or vaccines.

Two school districts in major cities, Dallas and Houston, are defying Abbott’s order preventing them from issuing mask requirements, and a nonprofit education group sued him on Sunday over the matter in the Travis County. Also on Monday, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins sued Abbott, saying his ban on local face masks “threatens lives.”

Abbott said Texas had “passed the time of government mandates” and Texans knew what to do to protect themselves at this point in the pandemic.

Joshua Fechter contributed reporting.

Disclosure: The Texas Hospital Association has financially supported The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization funded in part by donations from members, foundations, and corporate sponsors. Financial support plays no role in the journalism of the Tribune. Find a full list of them here.

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