I feel I need to start by saying there are really four main sets of numbers when it comes to COVID-19. You have the positive cases, the deaths, the hospitalizations, and the amount of people that are in the ICU. The first number can depend completely on the amount of people getting tested. Donald Trump was right. The more you test, the more positives you are likely to see. But the other three sets of numbers are more telling with how we're doing in regards to the coronavirus.

One of the more telling signs that we are far from out of the woods with COVID-19 is looking at how full the ICUs are in Texas. We are the lowest amount of available beds since the pandemic started. As of last Thursday, there were only 672 staffed ICU beds available in the entire state of Texas. Back in the week ending on November 27th, at least 28 hospitals across Texas had intensive care units that were full.

Are the ICUs full because of COVID-19 patients? Yes and no. The reason for the major spike right now is because people with major issues had held off on going to the hospital because of COVID-19. So now they have finally gone to the hospital and they've ended up in the ICU. Beth Powell Surface helps prepare hospitals for emergencies said:

Our biggest concern is if the numbers continue to go up, making sure that we have pulled all the levers that we possibly can to provide the backup that the hospitals need. Health care workers are doing everything they can to accept as many patients as they can to get into the right level of care.

With Christmas and New Years just around the corner, we need to make sure that we remember we aren't free and clear of the coronavirus yet. The threat is still very real and we need to take it seriously.

Stars Who Were Tested for the Coronavirus

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