HOUSTON — There is good news this Friday from the Texas Medical Center. The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations are on a downward trend. However, doctors warn the next wave could come in October.
“Currently Houston has just come on the other side of surge two," said Roberta Schwartz, executive vice president and chief innovation officer for Houston Methodist. “It’s hard to believe we won’t have a third surge, what we don’t know is how large it will be.”
Schwartz said Houston’s already made it through two surges this year. The first started in March. Methodist peaked around 200 patients in the hospital. The second, this summer, the hospital peaked around 700.
“Now, today, we are at about 180, so just under the surge number 1 number," said Schwartz.
Another encouraging sign is the positivity rate. It’s on a downward trend statewide, but the next thing to watch will be October. That's when Schwartz says we could see a rise in cases from Labor Day and schools restarting.
“A few people start to get it, they give it to a few more people, they give it to a few more people, so that’s now why we are watching October," she said.
But a third surge is not a guarantee. Take New York, for example. They’ve only had one larger surge and since then have been able to control the virus. Schwartz hopes Houston can do the same.
“Let’s help each other out. If we do this in a social contract, then I think we can work towards more and more of our society being open," she said.
Schwartz told KHOU 11 some hospitals in New York are seeing COVID patients now in the single digits. An encouraging sign, she says, that more progress is possible.