Texas hospital system is prepping tents to deal with rapid surge in COVID-19 patients

as Children across the nation. Head back to school, covid 19 cases are surging. Hospitalizations and deaths have nearly doubled over the last two weeks. The U. S. Is now averaging more than 100 and 9000 new covid 19 cases each day and more than 500 deaths per day Florida reported more COVID-19 cases over the last week than any other seven day period. During the pandemic, 50 florida, Children admitted to the hospital on friday alone. As many districts returned to class this week, a Jacksonville Church saw six members die from Covid 19 in the past 10 days alone for them were under the age of 35. All of them were healthy and the only thing they had in common to each of them were not vaccinated. Now, the church is pushing to get as many people vaccinated as possible. Texas cases and hospitalizations have doubled in the last two weeks. Austin Travis County using its emergency notification system to warn people of the dire covid 19 situation. Writing healthcare facilities are open, but resources are limited due to a surge in cases. Everyone needs to wear a mask and stay at home as much as possible if you have not been vaccinated. Do not wait to get one. It's okay. An 11 month old baby girl battling Covid 19 had to be airlifted because there were no more beds available in any of the pediatric hospitals in Houston. It gives me kind of mad that like everybody is taking called it as a joke and it's not a joke. Like it's very, very serious. Our babies are in danger. Louisiana also seeing the sharpest rate of increases in new COVID-19 cases. The head physician of a New Orleans children's hospital concerned about a surge in young patients. We are hospitalizing record numbers of Children. Half of the Children in our hospital today are under two years of age And most of the others are between five and 10 years of age, so they're too young to be vaccinated just yet. Health experts are worried about the impact of the delta variant on Children. I certainly am hearing from pediatricians that they're concerned that this time the kids who are in the hospital are both more numerous and more seriously ill. This is a virus that's not only more contagious but potentially more lethal. Experts say vaccinations are key to protecting against future variants. That could be even more problematic if you give the virus a chance to continue to change your, leading to a vulnerability that we might get a worse variant and then that will impact not only the unvaccinated that will impact the vaccinated.

A hospital system in Texas is prepping tents for the overflow of patients after a surge in COVID-19 cases filled its hospitals to the verge of capacity.Harris Health System in Houston is reporting 1 in 4 patients at its two hospitals have tested positive for COVID-19.Ben Taub Hospital's intensive care unit is at 95% capacity with 27% of utilization by COVID-19 patients and Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital, where the tents are being set up, is at 100% ICU utilization with 63% COVID-19 cases, Harris Health spokesperson Bryan McLeod told CNN in an email."They are still in the process of completing set up, and installing IT equipment, etc. There is no predetermined time for when they will begin to be used, but they want the tented environment to be ready to go in the event they are needed," McLeod said.President and CEO Esmaeil Porsa told CNN's Victor Blackwell that there are 122 COVID patients at the system's two hospitals and the number increased quickly."What is intriguing about this surge is not so much the magnitude of the numbers, but the speed at which the numbers are going up," Porsa said."It took us five weeks to get from one (patient) to 120. When I look at the last surge, it took us three months — the rapid rise in the amount of COVID-19 patients is very concerning."Another lagging problem is personnel shortages. Porsa said he would welcome federal aid to relieve some of the pressure. The hospitals are 254 nurses short leaving hospitals with no options but to hire agency nurses at high prices, he said.Porsa encouraged everyone to get vaccinated, saying that not one of the 128 patients that have died from the virus in the health system's hospitals this year were fully vaccinated."The situation is bad and only getting worse. We are not heading towards a crisis, we are in the middle of a crisis," Porsa said.Baby airlifted due to lack of beds in HoustonAn 11-month-old girl had to be airlifted on Friday to a hospital 150 miles away because of a shortage of beds in Harris County.Ava Amira Rivera tested positive for COVID-19, according to Amanda Callaway, a spokeswoman for Harris Health System. Callaway said Ava was having seizures and needed to be incubated but Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital, where she was first taken, does not offer pediatric services.None of the major pediatric hospitals in the area had beds available, Callaway said.She is doing well and on the road to recovery, said Dr. Dominic Lucia of Baylor Scott & White McLane Children's Medical Center in Temple, Texas.On Friday, the Harris County/City of Houston Public Health dashboard reported 220.79 new cases per 100,000 people over seven days.In Texas, the seven-day moving average was 11,042 new daily cases on Aug. 2, according to a CNN analysis of Johns Hopkins University data.Gov. Greg Abbott has said he will not impose a statewide mask mandate and issued an executive order that banned local governments — from requiring masks or mandating vaccinations.The governor said his reason behind not issuing another mask mandate is due to people having "immunity to COVID-19 through the vaccination or through their own exposure and recovery from it.""It would be inappropriate to require people who already have immunity to wear a mask," Abbott told CNN affiliate KPRC recently. "But also, what we know is, everyone watching the show and in the state of Texas know exactly what the standards are and if they want to adopt them in order to help protect themselves."Abbott has encouraged Texans to get vaccinated but notes that vaccines in Texas are "always voluntary, never forced."

A hospital system in Texas is prepping tents for the overflow of patients after a surge in cases filled its hospitals to the verge of capacity.

in Houston is reporting 1 in 4 patients at its two hospitals have tested positive for COVID-19.

Ben Taub Hospital's intensive care unit is at 95% capacity with 27% of utilization by COVID-19 patients and Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital, where the tents are being set up, is at 100% ICU utilization with 63% COVID-19 cases, Harris Health spokesperson Bryan McLeod told CNN in an email.

"They are still in the process of completing set up, and installing IT equipment, etc. There is no predetermined time for when they will begin to be used, but they want the tented environment to be ready to go in the event they are needed," McLeod said.

President and CEO Esmaeil Porsa told CNN's Victor Blackwell that there are 122 COVID patients at the system's two hospitals and the number increased quickly.

"What is intriguing about this surge is not so much the magnitude of the numbers, but the speed at which the numbers are going up," Porsa said.

"It took us five weeks to get from one (patient) to 120. When I look at the last surge, it took us three months — the rapid rise in the amount of COVID-19 patients is very concerning."

KTRK via CNN

A hospital system in Texas is prepping tents for the overflow of patients after a surge in COVID-19 cases filled hospitals to capacity, and pictured, a tent set up at Lyndon B. Johnson hospital in Houston, for COVID-19 patients.

Another lagging problem is personnel shortages. Porsa said he would welcome federal aid to relieve some of the pressure. The hospitals are 254 nurses short leaving hospitals with no options but to hire agency nurses at high prices, he said.

Porsa encouraged everyone to get vaccinated, saying that not one of the 128 patients that have died from the virus in the health system's hospitals this year were fully vaccinated.

"The situation is bad and only getting worse. We are not heading towards a crisis, we are in the middle of a crisis," Porsa said.

Baby airlifted due to lack of beds in Houston

An had to be airlifted on Friday to a hospital 150 miles away because of a shortage of beds in Harris County.

Ava Amira Rivera tested positive for COVID-19, according to Amanda Callaway, a spokeswoman for Harris Health System. Callaway said Ava was having seizures and needed to be incubated but Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital, where she was first taken, does not offer pediatric services.

None of the major pediatric hospitals in the area had beds available, Callaway said.

She is doing well and on the road to recovery, said Dr. Dominic Lucia of Baylor Scott & White McLane Children's Medical Center in Temple, Texas.

On Friday, the Harris County/City of Houston Public Health dashboard reported 220.79 new cases per 100,000 people over seven days.

In Texas, the seven-day moving average was 11,042 new daily cases on Aug. 2, according to a of Johns Hopkins University data.

Gov. Greg Abbott has said he will not impose a statewide mask mandate and that banned local governments — from requiring masks or mandating vaccinations.

The governor said his reason behind not issuing another mask mandate is due to people having "immunity to COVID-19 through the vaccination or through their own exposure and recovery from it."

"It would be inappropriate to require people who already have immunity to wear a mask," Abbott told recently. "But also, what we know is, everyone watching the show and in the state of Texas know exactly what the standards are and if they want to adopt them in order to help protect themselves."

Abbott has encouraged Texans to get vaccinated but in Texas are "always voluntary, never forced."

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