Doubters could argue the "Lone Star state" moved too soon amid the coronavirus crisis.
Texas reported a record number of COVID hospitalizations Monday — weeks after Gov. Greg Abbott took the lead among U.S. state governors in easing social distancing measures to help bring jobs back.
There are currently 1,935 COVID-19 patients in hospitals across the state, topping the previous hospitalization record of 1,888 patients on May 5, according to new data from the Texas Department of State Health Services.
Texas was among the first states to relax its statewide stay-at-home order, allowing it to expire April 30 and some businesses to resume operations May 1.
The coronavirus has infected more than 75,400 people in Texas, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The positivity rate for COVID-19 tests in Texas reached a low of 4.27% toward the end of May but has since jumped to 7.55%, according to the state’s health department.
While hospitalizations are increasing, there are more than 1,600 open intensive-care beds and more than 5,800 ventilators available for critically ill patients.
Some infectious disease experts say hospitalization numbers could be a better way to track a state’s reopening performance since it’s more difficult to skew than testing data, which fluctuates depending on how many tests are being run.
