TEXAS — On Monday, the process of administering COVID-19 vaccines at long-term care facilities in Texas began. It’s part of the state’s Phase 1 distribution plan, and that will be followed in the coming weeks by Phase 2, which includes Texans 65 years and older.

While that’s encouraging news, the state is not out of the woods yet, and, in fact, things are worsening. During an update on Monday morning, Austin Public Health interim health authority Dr. Mark Escott said the region is “going to enter 2021 in a state of emergency.”

Escott warned that Austin-Travis County could run out of hospital and ICU beds. The weeks following Thanksgiving saw a significant spike in COVID-19 cases and the same could be true following Christmas and New Year’s.

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Travis County is currently reporting 4,411 active cases of the virus, 532 deaths and 404 current hospitalizations. There are 136 patients being treated in intensive care units.

Statewide the story is much the same. The Texas Department of State Health Services Sunday afternoon reported 6,105 confirmed new cases of the virus as well as 1,452 new probable cases. There were 51 new fatalities reported, which is down from numbers reported in previous weeks.

There are currently 10,886 patients being treated for COVID-19 in Texas hospitals, 14,561 hospital beds available statewide, and 827 ICU beds available.

Over the weekend, outgoing Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen reported that he and his wife have tested positive for the virus. His family is currently quarantining. Bonnen, a Republican, has been critical of anti-maskers throughout the pandemic.