AUSTIN, Texas — As Thanksgiving approaches, doctors in Texas are continuing to urge people to use caution and minimize the spread of COVID-19 any way they can.
"We have definitely seen an uptick in COVID-19 patients in the last couple of weeks. We have seen an increase in positivity rates, patients coming in more symptomatic and increased level of hospitalizations. So this is quite concerning considering how close we are to Thanksgiving holiday season," said Dr. Natasha Kathuria, an emergency medicine physician who works in multiple emergency rooms in Austin. "The most important things to know right now to keep you and your loved ones safe for Thanksgiving is that we must quarantine for 14 days."
She also recommends people to get a COVID-19 test (she recommends the PCR test) if possible.
"Essentially, every place in Texas is getting busier over the last few weeks," said Dr. Diana Fite, the president of the Texas Medical Association. "So if people are going to be closer than 6 feet, they definitely need to be wearing the mask whenever possible. So essentially, it's going to be a different holiday. We just won't be able to have quite as many people around."
The number of cases as of Nov. 16
As of November 16, more than 1 million cases have been reported in the state, and more than 19,500 people in Texas have died, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
In Travis County, at least 34,769 cases have been reported and at least 466 people have died. At least 32,328 people have recovered from the virus.
In Hays County, at least 6,720 confirmed cases have been reported and at least 92 people have died. At least 6,026 people have recovered from the virus.
In Williamson County, at least 11,016 cases have been reported in the county and at least 158 people have died. At least 10,518 people have recovered from the virus.
Below are the amount of hospitalizations in the Austin area.
What doctors are saying
For many doctors, the main concern, among other things with COVID-19, is keeping an eye on hospital capacity. Dr. Kathuria said there has been an increase in hospitalized patients, but as of now there is still room. She urges people to take caution during the holidays so the virus doesn't spread, causing overwhelming hospitalizations like back in the summer.
"We are doing very well with managing our patient volumes," Dr. Kathuria said. "There is no need for patients to be worried that our ERs are overwhelmed. We are concerned with our very large and dangerous outbreaks that are occurring in El Paso, Lubbock and Amarillo and our upward trend in Austin, Houston and Dallas, areas that we could get into that danger zone within the next few weeks."
Dr. Fite said if a surge does happen, hospitals are more prepared to handle it than back in the summer when a surge of COVID-19 cases hit parts of Texas.
"We learned so much from the early days of the pandemic on how to create more beds that will be helpful to us, so things have evolved. Also, there's more treatment options to give for people who get COVID than in the beginning or even then in the summer," Fite said. "They're better prepared because there's more PPE, the personal protective equipment, and they found the different ways to open up more beds, whether it was different areas of the hospital or using a stadium or using the tents, having the military help us out."
Still, both doctors are encouraging people to not let their guard down.
"Right now, we're not in the red zone. We are, I would say, in the yellow zone where we're cautious," Dr. Kathuria said. "We want people to act now so that we don't get to that surge where we're overwhelmed again and we're having to cut off elective surgeries and compromise our normal medical care."
Dr. Fite added there have not been as many flu cases so far this flu season, potentially due to social distancing practices.
"Well, it has been shown in studies that if you get the flu plus COVID-19 at the same time, you are going to be sicker," Dr. Fite said. "But interestingly, with people doing the social distancing, washing hands and wearing masks, we're seeing less flu."
Overall, both doctors say this is a very critical time in fighting the spread of the virus.
"We understand there's pandemic fatigue," Dr. Kathuria said. "But we all need to take this extremely seriously for the next few months until the vaccine is available."
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