AUSTIN, Texas — Just a few weeks after social distancing measures were eased in Texas, the state is continuing to report the highest number of COVID-19 hospitalizations yet.
According to data released Monday by the Texas Department of State Health Services, a record number of people are in hospitals because of the coronavirus – 1,935 in all, with 89 of those hospitalized in Travis County.
On Tuesday, data showed 2,056 were hospitalized. On Wednesday, 2,153 was reported.
Over the past 14 days, average daily hospitalizations in the state have shown a clear, upward trend.
As Texas continues to reopen businesses, some health experts say tracking hospitalizations may be the best way to determine if relaxing social distancing recommendations is having a negative effect on controlling the spread of the virus.
In the meantime, in Travis County, data on new cases shows an alarming one-day spike. On Monday, the county reported 118 new cases in a single day – the highest number of new cases ever recorded in the county, above the previous one-day high of 88 new cases recorded on June 1.
There have been 3,815 total cases in Travis County, with at least 3,098 recoveries and 98 deaths.
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