Amid news of rising cases of hospitalization in Texas school districts, Republican Governor Greg Abbott has said in an interview that “things are looking good” in the Lone Star State when it comes to battling COVID-19.
According to a CNBC report, Abbott said that numbers are “flatlining, if not declining,” a day after Texas Department of State Health Services reported 320 COVID-19 related deaths, 21,000 new cases, and a slight increase in hospitalizations.
According to the governor, Texas is seeing a three-week low, and everything from hospitalization to positivity cases are “flatlining.”
“The positivity rate in Texas is at a three-week low and has steadily declined for three weeks,” Abbott said, adding: “In fact, it’s the lowest that it has been in over a month, hospitalizations are flatlining, the positivity cases are flatlining, so things are looking good.”
CNBC, on the other hand, said that the state’s hospitalizations have been recorded at around 13,900 for over a week. They said that the plateauing may have been due to the increase in the deaths.
The DSHS also reported an increase in the seven-day average deaths from 170 to 230.
However, the governor maintained his position that things are looking good for the state. He also shared that the infusion centers being opened around the state are “doing a terrific job of reducing hospitalizations.” The most recent infusion centers that Abbott mentioned were opened in McKinney on Wednesday, to provide the Regeneron monoclonal antibody treatment at no cost to the patient.
CNBC Squawk on the Streets host Morgan Brennan also asked Abbott about the state’s controversial policies of banning masks and vaccines, to which Abbott replied saying that there seems to be a limited growth period for the delta variant. He said that based on the current number of people infected by coronavirus in the state, the numbers of new infections will soon be going down.
“It seems like there’s a lifespan of advancement of the delta variant that lasts about a month or so and then you see a decline, and you see this repeated from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and it looks like it’s being repeated in the state of Texas,” Abbott said.
“The fact of the matter is, there’s a tremendous amount of acquired immunity in the state of Texas. One report showed that at least 30% of Texans do have acquired immunity … so with our acquired immunity, with those who have already received full vaccination, the numbers are beginning to look very good in the state of Texas.”
He also cited the acquired immunity that comes from having been infected with coronavirus combined with the number of vaccinated Texans, is making things look up for the state.
Meanwhile, Texas DSHS claimed that there have been more than 3.6 million confirmed and probable infections in Texas since March 2020. The DSHS said that it is yet unclear how long those who were infected could retain their immunity.
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center also released an updated COVID-19 forecast saying that without consistent, enhanced mitigation efforts the number of adults and children hospitalized for COVID-19 in North Texas is expected to surge this month beyond the all-time high levels seen in January.
