Lubbock Business Briefs: FirstCapital Bank of Texas announces plans for PPP loans
FirstCapital Bank of Texas announced on Wednesday that they will begin processing a third round of Paycheck Protection Program loans for local businesses in the Lubbock area once new guidelines are released.
The bank is waiting for the guidelines from the Small Business Administration and the United States Treasury. Businesses wanting to qualify for the loan must employ no more than 300 employees, have used or will use the full amount of the first PPP loan, and demonstrate at least a 25 percent reduction in gross receipts in the first, second or third quarter of 2020.
There were 14 additional COVID-19 related deaths reported by the City of Lubbock Monday - the most confirmed in a single day in nearly two weeks.
The city also confirmed 170 new cases and 259 recoveries. Lubbock County has had a total of 41,205 coronavirus cases which includes 37,378 recoveries, 538 deaths linked to the coronavirus and 3,289 active cases.
Between University Medical Center and Covenant Health, 49 patients were waiting for hospital beds and 16 beds were open, leaving 33 patients who were still waiting.
There were 238 COVID-19 patients hospitalized, with 73 patients in the intensive care unit.
The COVID-19 hospitalization rate in Trauma Service Area B, which includes Lubbock County, was at 24.03 percent on Monday. That remains above the 15 percent threshold established by Gov. Greg Abbott, requiring enhanced occupancy restrictions on some business.
Lubbock doctors entered holidays exhausted, worried gatherings could bring another spike
Dr. Ebtesam Islam walked room-to-room through the University Medical Center ICU on Wednesday morning, checking on each COVID-19 patient on the overfilled floor.
She carried an iPad with her, in case she needed to help a patient FaceTime their family to say goodbye at a moment s notice, she had to practically shout through layers of PPE as she spoke to other families, and she had to tell the wife of a man in his 30s that her husband would not make it home from the hospital - all before noon.
The City of Lubbock confirmed 300 new coronavirus cases on Sunday as well as three additional deaths related to COVID-19 complications.
There was an increase of four COVID 19 hospitalizations in Lubbock County on Sunday, bringing the total number of patients to 245. Out of those 245 patients, 82 were being treated in the ICU.
Both Covenant Medical Center and University Medical Center reported another day with available hospital beds. On Sunday, there were 17 patients waiting for beds and 31 newly open beds, leaving 14 more open for incoming patients.
The Lubbock Trauma Service Area s COVID-19 hospitalization rate rose back up to 20.93 percent, after dropping to its lowest in weeks on Saturday with 19.73 percent COVID-19 patients in the area s hospitals.