AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott has announced that the Texas Division of Emergency Management is creating an alternate care site in El Paso to expand COVID-19 hospital capacity.
This comes after a recent surge in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in the area.
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The facility will be located at the El Paso Convention and Performing Arts Center and will have a capacity of 50 beds. The site can also expand to 100 beds if needed, state officials said.
The Emergency Management Division and the Texas Department of State Health Services has deployed auxiliary medical units as well, which can provide up to 100 beds at a local hospital, to help with hospital capacity surges, according to the statement.
Abbott said the state has provided over 900 medical personnel to El Paso and will continue to provide additional medical staffing, equipment and bed capacity at the request of local officials.
“The alternate care site and auxiliary medical units will reduce the strain on hospitals in El Paso as we contain the spread of COVID-19 in the region,” Abbott said in a statement. “We continue to work closely with local officials in El Paso and provide resources to reduce hospitalizations, mitigate the spread, and keep the people of El Paso safe.”
Related: Trump says virus spike ‘gone’ in Texas while El Paso surges