AUSTIN, Texas — The number of known COVID-19 cases in Texas crossed the 10,000 mark Thursday as the coronavirus death toll approached 200, the state health department reported.
The 10,230 reported cases was an increase of 877 from the day before, although the numbers come with a significant caveat — researchers suspect the count is low because of limited testing capacity statewide.
The 199 deaths reported Thursday was up 13 from the day before and nearly triple from one week ago.
For the first time, the Texas Department of State Health Services also provided an estimate on the number of patients who have recovered from COVID-19 — 1,019 as of Thursday — and data on available hospital beds and ventilators.
The agency said its recovery estimate was based on several assumptions using hospitalization rates and recovery times, and added that the number does not take into account cases reported before March 24.
The number is an estimate of how many people have recovered, whether they had been hospitalized or not, an agency spokesman said.
Health officials also said there are 1,439 lab-confirmed COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals, meaning there could be additional patients hospitalized who have not yet been tested for the coronavirus or for whom test results are pending.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has said the state has enough hospital beds and ventilators — devices that help critically ill patients breathe — to mange the expected influx of patients.
There are more than 50,000 total hospital beds in Texas, and nearly 20,500 of them are available for COVID-19 patients, according to the agency. The state also has 2,248 available intensive care unit beds and 6,321 ventilators.
On Wednesday, Abbott said the state had 7,686 ventilators.
In the Austin area, the health agency said there are almost 1,200 hospital beds available for COVID-19 patients and 322 ventilators. Roughly 37 lab-confirmed COVID-19 patients are in area hospitals.
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