(Newser)
– Austin has decided that he needs a hospital more than a convention center now. With Travis County, the city is preparing the Austin Convention Center as an alternative location for patient care. It will admit people who need less care, to ease the tightening in the region’s hospitals. Intensive care patients and others who need high levels of treatment will still be treated in hospitals, which American statesman reports. “When we exceed capacity, we will do this not only for COVID patients, but for all individuals who need hospital care in this community,” said a health official. Coronavirus cases are increasing in the area, with active cases reaching a record 6,055 on Friday. “Our hospitals and intensive care units are filling up and deaths continue to increase across central Texas,” said the head of the local health authority.
The alternative care center will serve patients referred by hospitals, based on criteria developed by doctors and hospitals, by KXAN. The convention center will be open to patients as soon as it has 24-hour staff. The county medical society has called for doctors to help during the increase. The convention center has been on standby since it was prepared over the summer to receive 1,500 COVID-19 patients, although none have been admitted. With the hospital’s capacity shrinking in the Austin area, officials think they will need construction this time. The health authority leader again urged residents to take steps to stem the spread of the coronavirus – including staying at home, washing their hands, distance themselves socially and wearing masks. “The entire region must act now,” he said. (Read more coronavirus stories.)