Texas pauses reopening after severe uptick in coronavirus cases

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Texas governor urges residents to stay at home amid surge in COVID-19 cases

Over 5,400 new cases have been confirmed in the state in 24 hours; Casey Stegall reports from Dallas.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday that his state is pausing its reopening process amid a spike in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations.

Under the pause, those businesses that were previously allowed to reopen can continue to remain open and continue operations that abide by set occupancy levels and the Department of State Health Services’ minimum health protocols.

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“As we experience an increase in both positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, we are focused on strategies that slow the spread of this virus while also allowing Texans to continue earning a paycheck to support their families,” Abbott said in a statement. “The last thing we want to do as a state is go backwards and close down businesses.”

The Republican governor said the pause will remain in effect “until we can safely enter the next phase of opening our state for business.” He encouraged residents to wear masks, wash hands regularly, and maintain social distancing.

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“The more that we all follow these guidelines, the safer our state will be and the more we can open up Texas for business,” he said.

Abbott also put a stop to elective surgeries in the state’s largest counties for the time being in order to protect hospital space in the Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio areas.

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Statewide, the number of COVID-19 patients has more than doubled in two weeks. Texas has reported more than 11,000 new cases in the previous two days alone.

But Healthcare CEOs of the Texas Medical Center said Thursday that a letter sent to the community Wednesday was "misinterpreted."

According to the Houston Chronicle, the TMC group stressed the pandemic is not ovewhelming hospital capabilities to care for patients.  ICU capacity percentages in the 80s or 90s are "completely normal," said Dr. Marc Boom, Houston Methodist president and CEO.

"We have the ability to go far higher than that in terms of the ICU beds we can utilize for COVID-19 patients," Boom said during a press conference, according to the Chronicle.

And hospitals are ready to bring in nurses and clinicians from outside the state to help with any surges, said Dr. Doug Lawson, St. Luke’s Health CEO.

Texas is one of several states that have seen high case numbers in recent days. Several states set single-day case records this week, including Arizona, California, Mississippi, Nevada, Texas and Oklahoma. Some of those states also broke hospitalization records, as did North Carolina and South Carolina.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.