Houston hospitals overcrowded amid COVID-19 spike 

A public health agency that operates hospitals in Houston says area hospitals are transferring some patients to other hospitals in and outside of the city as Texas sees a surge in coronavirus cases, Report says, citing  ABC TV channel.
Harris Health System operates Ben Taub and LBJ hospitals in the Houston area. The hospitals are transferring both COVID-19 patients and others to help free up hospital beds, Bryan McLeod, a spokesperson for Harris Health, told CBS News on Wednesday. In the last 24 hours, they have moved 33 patients to other hospitals and are working to relocate at least 15 more, McLeod said.
McLeod said some patients had been transferred to other hospitals in the Houston area, and some to Galveston, Conroe, while other nearby cities. He said this is a common practice to free up beds at the hospitals.
According to data from the state's department of health and human services, the state has 6,533 COVID-19 related hospitalizations, 13,711 available hospital beds, 1,405 available ICU beds, and 1,405 available ventilators, according to the data. 
There have been more than 30,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in Harris County, which encompasses the Houston area and has seen more confirmed cases than any other county in Texas. Texas has nearly 160,000 cases, with almost 7,000 new cases reported on Tuesday alone – the highest single-day increase in the state since the start of the pandemic.
Earlier, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that the wearing of masks in the state would become mandatory amid a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases.