COVID-19 numbers in Texas are improving
AUSTIN, Texas - COVID-19 numbers are improving in Texas. New cases dropped by nearly 50 percent from Monday, Jan. 31 to Monday, Feb. 7.
The total number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals dropped from 12,121 to 9,659.
Adult patients in general hospital beds dropped from 9,023 to 7,069.
Adult patients in ICU beds dropped from 2,727 to 2,297.
Pediatric patients in hospital beds dropped from 381 to 293.
New hospital admissions went from 1,572 to 1,1172.
The number of COVID patients on ventilators decreased from 1,540 to 1,381.
The total number of staffed hospital beds increased from 63,290 to 60,234.
Available hospital beds increased from 7,577 to 8,118.
Available ICU beds went from 375 to 417.
In "Trauma Service Area O," which comprises Central Texas hospitals, the number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized dropped from 643 on Friday, Feb. 5, to 533 Monday, Feb. 7.
Within that same timeframe, adult patients in general beds dropped from 456 to 372.
Adult patients in ICU beds went from 171 to 150.
Pediatric patients went from 16 to 11.
COVID-19 hospital admissions dropped from 91 to 57.
Patients on ventilators dropped from 79 to 73.
Williamson County Health Authority Dr. Amanda Norwood attributes the drop to the "highly-infectious" nature of Omicron.
"Eventually, it runs out of people to infect. So that causes the number to come down relatively quickly," she explained.
She said now is not the time to ease up on precautions, stressing the importance boosters and vaccines.
"With Omicron the numbers went very high, higher than they've ever been prior, and they are starting to come down."
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