TMA Calls Governor’s Plan ‘Prudent and Careful’

Statement by Texas Medical Association (TMA) President David C. Fleeger, MD, in response to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s announcement that Texas hospitals now need to reserve only 15% of their capacity for COVID-19 patients.

“This is a prudent and careful move by Governor Abbott. Our hospitals were prepared for a large surge of COVID-19 patients. Thanks to most Texans abiding by social distancing requirements, we were able to avoid that surge. However, we must expand significantly our testing capacity, our ability to monitor new cases of COVID-19, and our ability to trace their contacts to prevent a rapid resurgence of this epidemic in Texas.”

TMA is the largest state medical society in the nation, representing more than 53,000 physician and medical student members. It is located in Austin and has 110 component county medical societies around the state. TMA’s key objective since 1853 is to improve the health of all Texans.