Texas Reports Highest 1-Day Death Toll Since Coronavirus Pandemic Began
AUSTIN, Texas (CBSDFW.COM/AP) - Texas Health and Human Services reported 10,291 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday and a state-record high 129 more deaths.
One day earlier, the state set a new high with nearly 10,800 new cases, along with a then-record 110 deaths.
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Nearly one-third of the state's 3,561 deaths since the pandemic began have been reported in July.
The state reported 10,457 people were currently hospitalized for COVID-19 on Thursday.
Gov. Greg Abbott told Houston TV station KRIV-TV that in Harris County, hospitalizations look like "they're beginning to get contained."
Data showed that new COVID-19 hospitalizations in the Houston area appeared to have leveled off in the last week.
"We're certainly not out of the woods yet, but this could be a glimmer of hope coming if people will continue wearing face masks wherever possible," said Abbott, who two weeks ago had ordered most of the state's 30 million residents to wear masks.
In addition to the military personnel, a group of doctors and nurses from New York, along with personal protective equipment and other supplies arrived in Houston last weekend to help set up testing sites at two churches, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said during a conference call.
One of the testing sites opened on Thursday and people "are taking full advantage" of it, said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. The other site is set to open on Friday.
Houston has been struggling to meet the growing demand for COVID-19 testing, with long waits and sites often running out of daily test supplies by noon.
"A lot of people ... are wanting testing, needing testing and they're having to wait a long time," Turner said.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
