DALLAS (1080 KRLD) - With Dallas County reconsidering whether to use Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center as a temporary hospital, existing hospitals are reporting similar numbers over several days.
Each day, the City of Dallas receives a report of hospital capacity and usage. Mayor Eric Johnson ordered daily reports from each hospital last month.
Twenty four hospitals had been reporting numbers since last week; a 25th hospital was added Tuesday:
Fifty percent of beds were occupied, 57 percent of ICU beds were being used and 31 percent of ventilators were in use.
With 24 hospitals reporting Monday, 51 percent of total beds were occupied, 60 percent of ICU beds were being used and 32 percent of ventilators were in use.
Johnson has said the report is a "point-in-time snapshot," and hospitals may be able to expand bed capacity if necessary.
Dallas County Health Director Phil Huang has said the peak of COVID-19 may occur in late April or early May. Judge Clay Jenkins has said hospitals may become more crowded as the number of cases grows, but Monday, the commissioners court decided to delay a vote on a $2 million contract to develop the temporary hospital at Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.
Jenkins said he would speak with hospitals in the county to ask their guidance for whether the pop-up hospital will be necessary for patients who no longer need acute care or ventilators.
The Texas National Guard is setting up the hospital and working with existing hospitals and the city, county, state and federal governments. The U.S. Navy would staff the hospital, which is being set up with 250 beds and room to expand.