Texas

[gotomu212]

FYI, hospitals are at capacity. I was in an emergency staff meeting this morning. We are a small community hospital an hour from the outskirts of Katy. We do not have an ICU. We have been taking Covid patients from Houston for a couple of weeks now. We have been asked to take ventilated patients, but can't due to lack of staff/resources (pre-Covid issues - we normally transfer patients TO Houston or Austin.) We had a patient this weekend in our ER that took almost 24 hours to get transferred because there were no beds available for critical care in the region.

The state is currently NOT in control of what is happening. No, there aren't freezer trucks parked at the Med Center yet (not that I know of) but we are in no shape or form doing well. Lots of people wearing masks is not going to change the current trajectory enough to make a difference. Factor in the idiots that throw "It's my right to not wear a mask" dance parties in Pasadena, and really, all bets are off.

I don't want to see the economy shut down. I have 40 employees. I want them to have a stable paychecks and access to health insurance. I also have 3 kids in college and would really like to be able to pay for that. But until we get a strong grip on what's going on, this will NOT get better. We need to shutter indoor activities, prohibit large gatherings, AND SIMULTANEOUSLY get our $hit together regarding testing, contract tracing, and enforced quarantine of infected individuals. If we shut down, then just reopen without that second arm of defense, we'll be right back where we are in a few months again. If we magically had testing, contact tracing, and enforced quarantines right now, I'm not sure it would make a difference. Texas has something like 2,500 contact tracers - trying to trace all potential significant contacts (and then find them and get them tested) for 9-10,000 new cases every day. That is humanly impossible. They will never catch up.

ETA - just saw the "we have overflow ICU beds" post. They may well have them, but they weren't taking patients from my hospital.

I think the available beds message is way too simple for what’s a complex situation. Beds are easy to get, staff to man them is not. I know they are cross training staff, but do you really want your podiatrist treating a lung issue? Too many people are using the ICU bed raw number without context.

 

[anthony2k7]

Texas Medical Center Website says their Phase 1 ICU beds are full but that they have capacity through Phase 2and 3 and potentially more.
https://www.tmc.edu/coronavirus-updates/overview-of-tmc-icu-bed-capacity-and-occupancy/

Do they have staff/ventilators etc needed to use those beds?

 

[gwynne]

I think the available beds message is way too simple for what’s a complex situation. Beds are easy to get, staff to man them is not. I know they are cross training staff, but do you really want your podiatrist treating a lung issue? Too many people are using the ICU bed raw number without context.

Yup.
And in addition, there is the continued PPE shortage issue.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I don’t know where you are, but where I am in the DFW metroplex, everyone is wearing masks. And as far as I can tell, the positive numbers are going down.

I have a hard time saying we should punish businesses and strip people of their livelihoods because some people won’t wear a mask.

But you have no trouble saying choose not getting any money and lose your health insurance (if you're lucky enough to have it even with a job) or get back to work in a job at high risk for Covid when in fact we have the means to fix things so we can get through these things without having to do either.

Here is yesterday's count.
Dallas 1000
Tarant 534
Ellis 246
Collin 115
Denton 154
Johnson 97
Kaufman 90
Parker 59
Hunt 48
Hood 42

If over 2000 cases in a day in the metro area is "good news" then God help the people of the DFW area. And I think I goofed and left out a couple of counties at that. Either that or they didn't post data yesterday.

Edit. Update : County numbers are just coming into the site I look at.
Dallas 1,055.
Tarant 857.
Denton 151.
Parker 72
Kaufman 48
Johnson 47.
Some of these may not be complete counts but it looks safe to say It will be over 2,000 again today so yesterday isn't really a fluke.

And I've read an article where it is getting into Nursing homes. If it cuts through those facilities, things are going to get bad.

I've been complaining about things in my state, and they are bad here. But now that I've really looked at Texas, Florida, and Arizona, I don't have it quite so bad.

 

[RamblingMad]

Well Florida prevented the ocean from rising by banning the phrase global climate change. So logically it follows then that if we don't keep statistics on Covid-19, it will just go away.

It makes you lose all faith in humanity.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

It makes you lose all faith in humanity.

That's what the Dis is for. If ever you have way too much faith in humanity as I so often do, you need but log on to the Dis and you'll soon be cured of that.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

That's what the Dis is for. If ever you have way too much faith in humanity as I so often do, you need but log on to the Dis and you'll soon be cured of that.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of people here doing dumb things like going to theme parks and trying to get around the mask rules etc.

 

[godisney14]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1282783825219682304

Thank God there is at least one sane governor in the South. Anyone still hoping for herd immunity is....(I won’t say it here).

 

[RamblingMad]

That's what the Dis is for. If ever you have way too much faith in humanity as I so often do, you need but log on to the Dis and you'll soon be cured of that.

Nice. I see many wanting to offer up their kids as tribute to the mouse. I get wanting to go on vacation and ride the attractions. But you have no idea where the CMs have been.

 

[anthony2k7]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1282783825219682304

Thank God there is at least one sane governor in the South. Anyone still hoping for herd immunity is....(I won’t say it here).

Exactly.

I'm not sure any USA numbers are reliable enough to estimate total % of population that had had it?

However I think the estimate for spain a few weeks ago was 5% of Spain had probably had it.

So give it maybe another 4 or 5 years and they might get to herd immunity IF the antibodies last and if it doesn't mutate too much.

 

[RamblingMad]

Exactly.

I'm not sure any USA numbers are reliable enough to estimate total % of population that had had it?

However I think the estimate for spain a few weeks ago was 5% of Spain had probably had it.

So give it maybe another 4 or 5 years and they might get to herd immunity IF the antibodies last and if it doesn't mutate too much.

Looks like about 1% a month is getting it. If it keeps spreading exponentially, then this monthly number should go up. But I doubt we will be anywhere near herd immunity by December. But given that more people will have had it, maybe people will take it more seriously.

 

[godisney14]

Well Florida prevented the ocean from rising by banning the phrase global climate change. So logically it follows then that if we don't keep statistics on Covid-19, it will just go away.

Ding!
We might finally be able to eliminate cancer as well if we’d just stop screening.

 

[aggiedog]

I saw that Tate Reeves tweet earlier. My take away from it is that at the rates of infection we have now, meaningful herd immunity numbers would more than surge our hospitals. It would be overwhelmingly bad. Like Katrina in New Orleans bad, but everywhere all at once. That many sick people would put the entire country at a standstill not due to lockdown but from the complete inability to function with the resources we have. If we were able to stabilize the infection rate to even just what it is now, we would still be losing millions of people to fatalities, and many more millions would end up with long term health issues. (Assuming you extrapolate the numbers to the rest of the US.)

 

[RamblingMad]

I'm seeing more cases now in TX than FL.

 

[tcufrog]

I don't see how herd immunity is possible without a viable vaccine given what I've read about the vaccine.

I'm beyond stressed. My dad is in the hospital for non-COVID problems for the 3rd time since the pandemic started and my mom is living in a senior independent living facility that isn't being careful. We've reported the facility multiple times and all they've done is call the place to check on it. They haven't done any sort of onsite inspections. We currently are unable to move her for a myriad of reasons and our home won't accommodate her handicapped needs unless we extensive remodel a bathroom and install a chair lift on the staircase.

 

[AustinTink]

I'm beyond stressed. My dad is in the hospital for non-COVID problems for the 3rd time since the pandemic started and my mom is living in a senior independent living facility that isn't being careful. We've reported the facility multiple times and all they've done is call the place to check on it. They haven't done any sort of onsite inspections. We currently are unable to move her for a myriad of reasons and our home won't accommodate her handicapped needs unless we extensive remodel a bathroom and install a chair lift on the staircase.

That has to be very stressful for you. I worry about my elderly in-laws daily. They are out and about more than I would like them to be.

 

[Kirby]

Fortunately I am seeing more people wear masks than not when I'm out and about which is not real often. My daughter is flying to Seattle today for her second weekend visitation with her son while he is on summer visitation with his dad. I can't worry, I can't worry, I can't worry................

 

[Simba's Mom]

DH heard today that the governor may close the state tomorrow. Since we live in a county that's quadrupled its daily new case count in the last 2 weeks, that may be wishful thinking for lots of people around here. So we'll see. Meanwhile, as our hospitals try to cope with over capacity hospitals, we're still waiting for the promised help from our esteemed governor.

 

[anthony2k7]

DH heard today that the governor may close the state tomorrow. Since we live in a county that's quadrupled its daily new case count in the last 2 weeks, that may be wishful thinking for lots of people around here. So we'll see. Meanwhile, as our hospitals try to cope with over capacity hospitals, we're still waiting for the promised help from our esteemed governor.

If even texas gives in and shuts you would think that would put more pressure on FL to shut as well. Probably won't though.

 

[aggiedog]

https://covid19risk.biosci.gatech.e...zY0yh0H7v7MAsFKJ2i4d1MVPznbW-hhFlMV52iQQdQO8k
I can't verify the stats used in this are correct, but it's an interesting interactive map of "what's the likelihood of at least one person in a group of 10-10,000 has coronavirus" in every county in the US. Victoria county is in the top 10 counties in the country at even a group of 10. Yikes. Its from the Georgia Institute of Technology.