No pediatric ICU beds left in Dallas amid COVID surge, county judge says

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said Friday there were no pediatric intensive care unit beds available in Dallas, Texas and there haven't been for the past 24 hours. Surging COVID-19 cases due to the Delta variant and hospital staffing shortages in the area may be in part to blame.

"In Dallas, we have zero ICU beds left for children," Jenkins said Friday at a virtual news conference. "That means if your child's in a car wreck, if your child has a congenital heart defect or something and needs an ICU bed, or more likely if they have COVID and need an ICU bed, we don't have one. Your child will wait for another child to die."  He said the same is true for pediatric ICU beds in the 19 surrounding counties as well, mentioning that young patients may have to be transported farther away for care.