August 14-20 | Frio County Covid-19 Numbers



THE WEEK OF AUGUST 14-20

Texas Department of State Health Services reported:

91 New Covid Cases in Frio County
(148 New Covid Cases were reported the week prior)

Active cases increased by: 5
Recovered cases increased by: 86
Fatalities increased by: 0

Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported:

13 New GEO Pearsall Detainee Covid Cases
48 New CoreCivic Dilley Detainee Covid Cases
12 New La Quinta Pearsall Detainee Covid Cases

Frio County Vaccination Rate:

Frio County’s Fully Vaccinated Rate (age 12+) increased 2.26% for the week.
The prior week’s increase was 0.98%.
Vaccinated with at least one dose (12+), a better indicator of recent vaccine activity, increased 2.44%.
The prior week’s increase was 1.63%.
These two numbers graphed together show a recent bump in both rates.

COVID Hospitalizations out of Total Region P Hospital Capacity:

Frio is one of 22 counties in Trauma Service Area Region P, which serves a population of 2.9 million people.

“COVID Hospitalizations out of Total Region P Hospital Capacity” increased by 2.49%, but there are a few things to note about this graph:

1. Though percentage of COVID Hospitalizations out of Total Region P Hospital Capacity increased at a slower rate, the number of actual COVID hospitalizations is still rapidly increasing. The reasons the rate slowed (as a percentage) are the addition of staffed hospital beds and Governor Abbott’s request to hospitals to stop non-emergency surgeries. Elsewhere in Texas, some of the additional staffed beds affecting the percentage are actually overflow tents outside the hospitals.

2. Even with the addition of staffed hospital beds, Region P has spent fifteen days over the 15% threshold. The 15% threshold line shows the point that formerly triggered the limiting the capacity of certain businesses and bars after seven days. During this wave of the pandemic, however, that order has been rescinded.

ICU Bed Usage in Region P:

Compare August 20 2021 ICU Bed Usage to August 20 2020:

As of August 20, Region P has 55 available ICU beds for 2.9 million people, and the number of COVID-19 ICU patients has been on a steady increase since mid-July.

55 available ICU beds compared to 157 available ICU beds on the same day last year. Last year, the number of COVID-19 ICU patients was on the decline.

Statewide, the percentage of available ICU beds is even lower, which limits the ability of regional hospitals to transfer patients elsewhere once capacity is reached. For full responsive graphs detailing Texas hospital resource data, visit: https://covid-texas.csullender.com/?tsa=P



Most concerning is that for the past few weeks, the number of ICU beds has been hovering at the lowest level since the start of the pandemic, both in Region P and statewide. If we are not at the highest number of COVID ICU patients since the start of the pandemic, then why are we at the lowest number of available ICU beds? Much of the answer is in staffing:

written by Jose Asuncion, Frio County Commissioner, Pct. 4