Gov. Greg Abbott issued a proclamation suspending elective surgeries in more Texas counties Thursday, among them Starr and Willacy.
Elective surgeries in Cameron and Hidalgo counties were suspended by the governor last week.
The order suspends surgeries in 11 Trauma Service Areas, or TSAs, which are regions Texas is divided into in order to form a regional council to implement a regional trauma system plan, and delineated the trauma facility designation process and provided for the development of a state trauma registry.
“The State of Texas continues to implement strategies to help ensure ample supply of hospital beds for COVID-19 patients,” Abbott wrote in a release. “By expanding this directive to include the counties within these 11 TSAs, we are freeing up more resources to address upticks in COVID-19 related cases. The State of Texas will continue to do everything we can to mitigate the spread of this virus and support our hospitals and health care professionals as they care for their fellow Texans.
“We must all come together and continue to practice social distancing, wear a face covering in public, and stay home when possible.”
According to the release, the proclamation directs hospitals in the counties to postpone procedures that are not immediately and medically necessary to heal a serious medical condition or preserve the life of a patient who would be seriously at risk otherwise.
