HIDALGO COUNTY, Texas – Hidalgo County, Starr County, and Valley Baptist Health System hospitals have now reached capacity due to the influx of COVID-19 cases in the area, according to a report from KRGV.
An emergency alert was sent out to residents Friday, urging them to stay home and only call 9-1-1 if absolutely necessary. The emergency alert can be read below.
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Please be safe this weekend. 🏡 #COVID19
Posted by Richard Cortez, Hidalgo County Judge on Friday, July 3, 2020
Hidalgo County hopes to conserve resources as much as possible before the July 4th weekend. Residents are also urged to avoid gatherings of more than 10 people, to shelter-in-place, wear a mask and social distance from others to limit the spread of the virus.
The Valley Baptist Health System has reached its capacity as well with COVID-19 patients, according to a report from KRGV.
KRGV reports the Valley Baptist Medical Center-Harlingen had 141 COVID-19 related patients as of Friday afternoon, and Valley Baptist Medical Center-Brownsville had 97.
According to KRGV’s report, every hospital in the Valley is full and patients are being taken to other parts of Texas.
“There are no beds in the Valley,” Dr. Jose Vazquez, with the Starr County health authority, said to KRGV. “We are becoming New York.”
Hospitals in Bexar County haven’t yet reached capacity, however, each day, they are nearing closer to doing just that. As of Friday, the county announced a new daily high of COVID-19 cases with 1,334, totaling 14,212 cases total in the community.
Two additional deaths were also reported by city leaders, and the death toll for Bexar County is now at 117.
With these current numbers, San Antonio hospitals now have 14% of staffed beds available and around 177 additional nurses from other cities in Texas have arrived to help in the COVID-19 response.
This is a developing story and we’ll bring more updates as they become available.