Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Facing Covid Emergency, Abbott Calls For Other States To Help Texas
AP: Abbott Appeals For Out-Of-State Help Against COVID-19
Gov. Greg Abbott appealed for out-of-state help Monday to fight the third wave of COVID-19 in Texas. The request came as a county-owned hospital in Houston raised tents to accommodate their COVID-19 overflow. Private hospitals in the county already were requiring their staff to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. ... Abbott has directed the Texas Department of State Health Services to use staffing agencies to find additional medical staff from beyond the state’s borders as the delta wave began to overwhelm its present staffing resources. He also has sent a letter to the Texas Hospital Association to request that hospitals postpone all elective medical procedures voluntarily. (Wallace, 8/10)
Houston Chronicle: Gov. Abbott Is Recruiting Nurses To Texas As COVID Surge Overwhelms Hospitals
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday announced a series of emergency orders he said would help hospitals in the state respond to its latest COVID-19 surge. Abbott said health officials will begin recruiting out-of-state nurses to help fill a staffing gap in overwhelmed hospitals, similar to the state’s response during previous surges. Throughout the current hospitalization spike, the Texas Department of State Health Services had been directing cities and county judges to address the staffing shortage with federal money. (Blackman and Gill, 8/9)
The Washington Post: Texas Gov. Abbott Asks Hospitals To Halt Non-Urgent Procedures As Admissions Soar
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is asking hospitals to stop non-emergency medical procedures to free up space for covid-19 patients as the rise in new infections could threaten the availability of hospital beds to treat them.Yet as Abbott touted the move as “taking action" to combat coronavirus cases that are now averaging more than 10,000 each day in the state, his order to ban mask mandates is facing challenges. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, a Democrat and elected official, on Monday evening said he filed a temporary restraining order against the ban, declaring the governor lacks the legal authority to impose it. (Pietsch and Knowles, 8/10)
Some residents and schools are fighting back against Gov. Abbott's orders —
The New York Times: Dallas School District Defies Governor’s Ban And Announces A Mask Mandate.
The Dallas Independent School District said on Monday that everyone — students, employees and visitors — must wear a mask while on school property, starting Tuesday. The mandate, which officials said was temporary, was imposed in defiance of an executive order by Gov. Greg Abbott that prohibits school districts from requiring masks. (Slotnik, 8/10)
Houston Chronicle: Opting Out: Texas School Districts React To Abbott's Mask Mandate Ban With Workarounds, Defiance
When Dallas Independent School District Superintendent Michael Hinojosa on Monday announced a mask mandate taking effect Tuesday for students and teachers in school facilities, he acknowledged penalties and pushback likely would follow, given Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on such mandates. The decision was still necessary, Hinojosa said. “We’re in a situation that has gotten significantly more urgent,” he said at a news conference Monday, citing what he called a “temporary surge” of COVID-19 cases driven by the delta variant, combined with the lack of state funding for school districts to offer a virtual schooling option. Dallas ISD’s 150,000 students and 10,000 teachers Monday began in-person classes. (Perez and Zong, 8/9)
KXAN Austin: Austin ISD Parents, Teachers, Students Demand Mask Mandates, COVID-19 Safety For New School Year
In just one week, a group of over 100 Austin ISD parents, students, and teachers formed the advocacy group “Safe Schools for All” — to demand the district do more to stop COVID-19 spread during in-person learning in the new school year. Group members are railing against what they call Gov. Greg Abbott’s “dangerous” mask ban in public schools and “irresponsible” guidance by the Texas Education Agency. The new school year comes during an unfortunate surge in COVID-19 cases in the Austin-Travis County area, and state and nationwide. (Falcon, 8/9)
The New York Times: Abbott Criticized For Ban On Covid Mandates As Cases Soar In Texas
The dilemma sounded familiar. A prominent, ambitious red-state governor, who had staked out a firm position opposed to mask mandates and other aggressive measures to combat the spread of Covid-19, suddenly found himself on the defensive as cases and hospitalizations soared in his state. First, it was Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida. Now it is Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, who is facing withering criticism as I.C.U. beds have dwindled to the single digits in Austin and health officials in San Antonio have labeled its risk level just a step below critical. But Mr. Abbott remains firm in his refusal to enact any statewide mandate while he prohibits local officials from doing so in their own communities. (Montgomery, Heyward and Sandoval, 8/9)
