As Texas saw its eighth consecutive day of record COVID-19 hospitalizations Friday, Austin-area officials began preparing for the possibility — considered remote but growing — that a field hospital might be needed to handle overflow patients.
The Austin Convention Center would be converted into an alternative care site if hospitals become overwhelmed, said former Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt, a key decision maker in local efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus, “Here’s hoping we never need an alternative care site, but if we do, we are ready to stand one up,” Eckhardt told the American-Statesman.
Read more from Nicole Cobbler and Nicole Villalpando with The Austin American-Statesman here.