Tarrant County reported a record number of COVID-19 cases Wednesday with 2,112. The county's previous high was nine days earlier with just 1,525.
Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price said Wednesday both she and her husband tested positive.
"Unfortunately, like so many of our loved ones, friends, and neighbors, my husband and I have tested positive for COVID-19," Price wrote in a statement. "While we are fortunate to be exhibiting mild symptoms, we are closely monitoring our health and consulting with our physicians. As we head into the holiday season, we continue to ask everyone to remain vigilant and prioritize the health and safety of our community by wearing a mask and social distancing. We appreciate everyone's prayers for a speedy recovery."
Tarrant County reported 794 COVID-19 patients in hospitals Wednesday. Among those, 66 are at JPS Hospital.
"We've got folks who are just exhausted. We will always rise up to take care of folks as a team, and we will always figure out a way to get it done, but it would be a lot easier if we could take a break. We will never take a break in the middle of a pandemic," says Steven Davis, the chair of internal medicine at JPS, who has been working in the COVID unit.
Davis is urging people to weigh the risk of spreading the virus before planning family events over the holidays.
"What we're worried about is, do we see another spike related to Thanksgiving and then another one related to the Christmas holidays and then another one related to New Year's?" he says.
He says COVID-19 patients can feel even more isolated because they cannot see family face-to-face.
"Everybody who works in the ICU is also really, truly the human connection for these patients," Davis says. "I can't imagine if this pandemic happened before Zoom or Facetime so patients could have at least a little bit of contact with their families."
Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth reported its highest number of COVID-19 patients Wednesday, with 20. The hospital says patients range in age from one to 17.
Medical Director of Infectious Diseases Suzanne Whitworth says Cook Children's may need to add an additional unit to care for COVID-19 patients in the next week.
"I think we will have to change a little bit of what we're doing. I am not fearful that we will not have enough beds, period," she says.
Dallas County reported 947 cases Wednesday and 17 deaths, the most in more than a month. Judge Clay Jenkins says he believes the case numbers are low because of "lower than expected numbers from the state’s electronic laboratory reporting system."
Collin County added 294 cases and three deaths. Denton County had 252 cases and no deaths.
Across North Texas, hospitals reported 2,295 COVID-19 patients Wednesday, up from 2,089 at the beginning of the week. The area has 1,714 open beds, 125 available ICU beds and 1,878 available ventilators. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, COVID-19 patients occupy 13.96% of hospital capacity in the area.