HOUSTON — The Texas Department of State Health Services reported Wednesday more than 10,000 new cases of COVID-19 throughout the state in a single day since February.
The number of hospitalizations is rising as well.
COVID-19 patients are filling up the beds in the Texas Medical Center where hospitals are reporting their phase one ICUs are now 100% full.
The numbers show a frightening prediction that’s now coming true.
TMC hospitals report that COVID-19 patient admissions are growing an average of almost 10% per day.
TMC reported its hospitals admitted 187 new COVID-19 patients on Tuesday. Last month, the average was 48 per day.
The latest surge in cases has prompted health officials to expand vaccination outreach.
State health officials announced Wednesday they will provide $10 million in grants for community-based vaccine programs for hard-to-reach communities.
"We have to protect our families but also our hospitals," Porfirio Villareal, with the Houston Health Department, said. "They have to be ready for all types of surgeries.”
Texas health officials report there are currently almost 5,300 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the state.
"The problem is that vaccination rates are not very high in this part of the country," said Baylor College of Medicine dean and virologist Peter Hotez. "They’re ridiculously low in Louisiana and some parts of Texas, like east Texas. Houston is slightly better but we’re not doing that great so, with the Delta variant, there’s going to be a lot of virus transmission.”
Wednesday's graph from TMC shows the Greater Houston area’s daily average positive cases are now growing at an exponential rate from week to week.