March 24 th : Governor Abbott issued an Executive Order requiring Texas hospitals to submit daily reports of hospital bed capacity to the Texas Department of State Health Services. March 25 th : Governor Abbott temporarily waived certain hospital licensing rules and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) adopted an emergency rule to meet Texas' need for additional hospital capacity. March 29 th : Governor Abbott announced a joint effort between the state, the Texas Military Department (TMD), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to identify and equip additional locations to serve as health care facilities in the event that hospital capacity is exhausted. The Governor announced the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas as the first of these sites. View the presentation on Texas' hospital capacity.