On Monday Governor Greg Abbott once again cautioned Texans that Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations are growing too rapidly. Wearing face masks and maintaining a 6-foot distance from others have been proven effective against the spread of the disease. While the increases are troubling, the Governor said they are not alarming and no new restrictions are being proposed at this time. He has directed TABC to more closely monitor compliance with current distance and capacity restrictions on bars and suspend the liquor licenses of those not in compliance.

People hospitalized in Texas on Monday with Covid-19 reached a new high for the 11th straight day with 3711 patients. On Memorial Day only 1511 Covid-19 patients were hospitalized in Texas. The Governor stressed that an abundant supply of available hospital beds still exists in Texas. The number of new infections is currently 3200 a day based on a seven day average. That is up from 1600 cases a day in May. More troubling than the number of new cases is the infection rate among those being tested. In May 4.2% of tests came back positive. This week that rate has more than doubled to 9%.

Tarrant County statistics are also troubling. Confirmed cases per day on a 7-day average have increased from 531 on May 25th to 1635 on June 15th. More troubling is the percentage of those being tested who are confirmed with the virus has grown from a low of 5.6% to 17.5%. The county had 268 hospitalized Covid-19 patients Monday with 1861 staffed beds available. Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley has not mandated face masks in the county. He likes to say “You have the right not to wear a mask, but that does not make it right.”