Texas has nearly doubled the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in one month, according to state health data.
From Oct. 11 to Nov. 11, the number of people hospitalized has gone up more than 87.2% from 3,622 patients to 6,779.
The 609 additional COVID-19 patients from Tuesday to Wednesday make up the second-highest single-day increase in Texas. The record happened on July 24 when there were 1,178 new hospitalizations.
There are 1,929 hospitalized coronavirus patients in North Texas hospitals, a number not seen since August.
This statistic covers Collin, Dallas, Denton, Tarrant and Grayson counties.
The nearly 2,000 hospitalizations is more than 85% of where the area was at the highest level in July, according to the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council.
This makes up 11.97% of total bed capacity, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
In October, Gov. Greg Abbott said an area has "high hospitalizations" of COVID-19 patients if its hospitals have seven consecutive days in which the number of COVID-19 hospitalized patients as a percentage of total hospital capacity is greater than 15%.
The seven-day positivity rate, which takes into account both the number of positive results and people tested, has been above 10% since Oct. 21.
In September, Gov. Greg Abbott said being above 10% is a "warning flag."
Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitely said he is in "very close communication" with his county's hospitals and that Tarrant County is under a public health crisis right now.
Whitley also said he thinks the county's spike in numbers is related to the opening back of schools as well as youth sports.
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said the county is seven to 10 days away from "reaching our highest COVID hospitalization census to date if we do not immediately renew our resolve and change our behaviors."
The seven-day average for COVID-19 hospitalizations is helpful to analyze for two main reasons.
Since these statistics involve people in the hospital because of the virus, it does not rely on an area's ability to give or receive COVID-19 tests.
Looking at the average over a week's time also keeps anomalies from impacting the overall analysis.
All of the hospitalization data comes from the Texas Department of State Health Services, which gathers information from 57 city and county health departments, 600 hospitals and 340 laboratories.
Tarrant County
As of Wednesday, the seven-day average for hospitalizations in Tarrant County is 570.0.
The record seven-day average is 690.43 that happened from July 17 to July 23. Before this spike, the county had a similar seven-day average to what it is currently. It was 579.71 from July 3–9.
Tarrant County also reported 673 hospitalizations Wednesday. The daily record happened on July 23 with 731 people hospitalized.
Collin County
As of Wednesday, the seven-day average for hospitalizations in Collin County is 214.43, the highest average the county has seen.
The previous record seven-day average was 204.57, which happened from July 15–21.
Collin County reported 275 hospitalizations Wednesday. That is a new county record.
Dallas County
As of Tuesday, the seven-day average for hospitalizations in Dallas County is 485.43.
The record seven-day average is 690.43 that happened from July 3–9. Before this spike, the county had a similar seven-day average to what it is currently. It was 493.14 from June 16–22.
Denton County
As of Wednesday, the seven-day average for hospitalizations in Denton County is 92.43.
The record seven-day average is 103.57 that happened from July 15–21. Before this spike, the county had a similar seven-day average to what it is currently. It was 94.71 from July 8–14.
Denton County reported a record 117 hospitalizations Wednesday. The previous high happened on July 16 with 110 people hospitalized.
Texas
As of Wednesday, there are 6,779 people hospitalized because of COVID-19 in Texas hospitals. The current seven-day average is 6,174.86.
The record seven-day average is 10,664.14 that happened from July 16–22. The state had a similar seven-day average to what it currently has right before that spike. It was 6,122 from June 26 to July 2.
When hospitalizations spiked back in June and July, Gov. Greg Abbott issues a statewide mandate for Texans to wear face masks in most public places.
