El Paso COVID-19 Patients Being Sent To Other Hospitals Statewide

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Officials say the crush of El Paso's coronavirus surge is straining health care capacities statewide as the city sends even its non-COVID-19 cases to hospitals elsewhere in the state. El Paso confirmed 994 new COVID-19 cases and 13 new deaths Tuesday, and Austin Mayor Steve Adler confirmed that Austin-area hospitals are receiving non-coronavirus patients from overwhelmed hospitals in the border city. He said he's concerned that if Dallas, Houston and San Antonio hospitals also required help, Austin’s resources would have little to no capacity to treat its own cases if its COVID-19 numbers reached a similar level.