Texas Orders Hospitals to Cease Non-Essential Surgeries and Enlists the National Guard to set up Medical Tents to Prepare for Coronavirus Pandemic

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Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Sunday issued two executive orders to expand hospital capacity and provide for greater healthcare treatment for Covid-19 patients.

First, Gov. Abbott is directing all licensed healthcare professionals and all licensed healthcare facilities to postpone all surgeries and procedures that are not medically necessary to correct a serious medical condition or to preserve the life of a patient.

Second, Gov. Abbott is suspending certain regulations to increase the capacity of hospital rooms that are available.

“What this means is that hospitals will be able to treat more than one patient in a patient room thus increasing their ability to care for the growing potential number of Covid-19 patients,” Abbott said during a televised press conference.

“Together these orders will free up countless hospital beds across the entire state of Texas to be able to treat the potential increase of Covid-19 patients,” Abbott said.

Some hospitals have indicated that through these procedures they might be able to allocate 50…