Gov Abbott Sends Help to El Paso Hospitals Amid COVID-19 Surge
In El Paso, the amount of positive COVID-19 tests is surging. It's become a daily occurrence that the number of new cases is over 500. Of course, just the number of new positive cases isn't the only measuring stick to see how we're doing with containing COVID-19, but it's certainly very telling. If you want to get the most up-to-date numbers for El Paso and COVD-19, CLICK HERE. Apparently Texas Governor Greg Abbott believes El Paso needs some help, so he's sending some.
Governor Abbott said in a statement:
It is vital that Texas communities seeing an uptick in hospitalizations have the resources they need to combat Covid-19. This surge in medical personnel and PPE will help support El Paso's hospitals and first-responders as we mitigate the spread of this virus.
The Borderland is going to be getting 75 total workers to help out in our hospitals, and that 75 will include nurses and respiratory therapists, which are much needed right now. Something else that is in high demand is personal protective equipment. Thankfully we'll be getting stockpiles of PPE as well.
A quick look at the numbers shows El Paso needs to work to control COVID-19. This past Monday, the number of active cases exceeded 6,000, which is the highest that number has reached since the pandemic started. And in just over a week, the number has shot up by nearly 1,900.
With the positive cases spiking here in El Paso, the hospitalizations are as well. We are at our highest level since early August and El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego has said that the rate of hospitalizations that are tied to COVID-19 is up to 16%.