AUSTIN, Texas _ Downtown Dallas _ at the Kay Bay Hutchison Convention Center, to be precise � will be the site of Texas' first pop-up hospital to treat people ill with the novel coronavirus, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Sunday.
Dallas County has the most COVID-19 cases of any county in Texas, a key consideration in expanding hospital capacity there with help from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Abbott said. Dallas County on Sunday reported 49 more known cases of coronavirus, bringing the total to 488.
"Existing hospitals will continue to be the primary location to treat and care for those in need," Abbott said at a news conference. "But we must prepare for the worst case challenges as they arise."
The corps, assisted by the Texas National Guard, initially will create 250 beds, he said.
Not even that many beds are needed now, the governor said.
However, the convention center will be able to house as many as 1,400 beds if needed, Abbott said.
The corps already is doing at least preliminary work at the site, he said.
Hospitalizations from the coronavirus have been rising. Of all of the COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization in the county, 36% have required admission to intensive care units, according to the county.
Council member Jennifer Gates at a committee meeting Friday said the city must be prepared for a surge in hospital patients, and urged officials to keep pushing for more information on Dallas' hospital capacity.
"We're all going to be held responsible as elected officials," Gates said Friday.
Abbott said the state would begin looking for sites for pop-up hospitals in Houston and other major cities.
Brig. Gen. Paul Owen, who joined the governor at the news conference, said the team also conducted assessments of other facilities in Dallas: the Walnut Hill Medical Center, a hospital that closed in 2017, as well as the Embassy Suites on Stemmons Freeway and the Lumen Hotel near Southern Methodist University.
The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center also currently houses a temporary emergency shelter for the homeless in Dallas, after other Dallas facilities had to eliminate some bed space because of social distancing needs.
Owen said there was plenty of space at the convention center for both the pop-up hospital and the homeless shelter. The two services will be partitioned from each other, Owen said.
More federal funds for Texas
The Texas Division of Emergency Management will receive a $237 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to respond to the growing coronavirus pandemic, Texas Sen. John Cornyn announced on Sunday.
That funding comes after President Donald Trump in mid-March made a national emergency declaration and then last week approved Texas' request for a major disaster declaration.
The money is being doled out through what's known as the Stafford Act. While that disaster relief law typically isn't used for public health crises _ such as the Ebola outbreak in 2014 _ the COVID-19 outbreak has spurred an unprecedented government response.
"I know this is a time of serious uncertainty for both the physical and financial health of our families and our country, but ... the federal government is working to provide the relief we can," Cornyn said in a news release.
Millions of dollars in federal funding have started flowing to Texas, even before the latest infusion.
The U.S. Health and Human Services Department first sent Texas about $1.75 million in rapid response assistance.
That was soon after buttressed by at least an additional $37 million that was carved out of an $8.3 billion relief package approved by Congress.
Even more money is likely coming Texas' way, especially after Trump last week signed into law a $2 trillion stimulus package that includes money marked for state and local governments.
Washington correspondent Tom Benning contributed to this report. Robert T. Garrett reported from Austin; and Dana Branham and Hayat Norimine, from Dallas.
