TEXAS – Nearly three months after Gov. Greg Abbott began to reopen Texas amid the coronavirus pandemic, case numbers have soared at an alarming rate.
What You Need To Know
- Single-day report record nearly 7,000 cases
- Hospitalizations due to COVID-19 have tripled
- Governor put in more restrictions to slow spread last week
On Tuesday evening, the state reported 6,975 new cases, breaking the previous record of 6,000 new cases in a single day.
#COVID19TX update: https://t.co/ofycOLqWQZ#Texas had 75,000 new cases in 3 weeks from June 8 to June 29. It took Texas 3 months to reach its first 75K cases
— Texas DSHS (@TexasDSHS) June 30, 2020
Since June 1, current #COVID19 hospitalizations have more than tripled from 1,756 to 6,533
Together for a #HealthyTexas pic.twitter.com/bpTjqqd1Rd
Abbott took steps last week to slow the spread, closing bars and capping capacity at restaurants to 50 percent.
According to the Texas Department of Health Services, since June 1, coronavirus hospitalizations have more than tripled from 1,756 to 6,533.
Large Texas counties have enforced face masks, social distancing and are urging people to stay home as hospitals reach capacity.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert at the National Institutes of Health, told Congress last week that the next two weeks will be "critical" in how the country addresses the surge in states like Florida, Arizona and Texas.