The Department of Defense is sending a "U.S. Army Urban Augmentation Task Force" to support hospitals in the Rio Grande Valley.
On Wednesday, hospitals around Brownsville and McAllen reported just 14 available ICU beds.
Governor Greg Abbott says the team will provide support to hospitals, doctors and nurses in Cameron and Hidalgo Counties.
In addition to the team from the U.S. Army, the Texas Division of Emergency Management is working with the counties to identify alternate sites, including hotels, that can house patients recovering from COVID-19.
"As the State of Texas mitigates the spread of COVID-19, we are continuing to work closely with our local and federal partners to identify outbreaks and provide our communities with the resources they need to keep Texans safe," Abbott wrote in a statement. "I am grateful to our federal partners at the Department of Defense for sending these teams to the Valley and working within the community to protect public health and combat this virus. These teams, coupled with our newly established partnership with local hotels, will aid in our efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 and ensure adequate hospital capacity in the Valley."
Texas reported a record number of new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday with 10,791, and a record number of deaths with 110. Hospitalizations dropped from 10,569 Tuesday to 10,471 Wednesday.
Texas Health and Human Services says 853 ICU beds were available, but broken down by region, just 14 ICU beds werer available in Cameron and Hildalgo Counties Wednesday. The region including Beaumont, Galveston and Port Arthur had zero ICU beds available.
Hospitals in Dallas/Fort Worth had 263 open ICU beds.