Washington Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner warned Sunday that his city’s hospital system is close to being “overwhelmed” with patients amid a surge in confirmed coronavirus cases.
“If we don’t handle this virus quickly, in about two weeks our hospital system could be in serious trouble,” Turner said in “Face the Nation.”
Texas is one of 40 states that is experiencing an increase in coronavirus cases and has postponed plans for a gradual reopening of its economy. Turner said that in Houston, one in four people tested is testing positive for coronavirus, compared with a rate of one in 10 people just a month ago.
“This virus is an equal opportunity abuser. It will inflict anyone who comes near it,” Turner said. “Now he’s having a [disproportionate] impact on people of color. And right now, it’s especially within the Hispanic community. But we are also affecting young people. “
Turner attributed the increase in coronavirus cases in Houston to a reopening that proceeded too quickly.
“From the beginning, when we started opening too fast and when you put that on top of everything else, all the other activities that were going on and people started to re-socialize, then you started to resupply the virus. And then it was when the numbers started increasing, “he said.
Like Texas, Florida is also among the states that are seeing a substantial jump in the number of coronavirus infections, and local leaders have begun to impose restrictions on companies to mitigate the spread of the deadly disease.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Giménez said Sunday that he believes the explosive numbers in Florida and Miami-Dade may be attributed to socialization among youth and protests that erupted in response to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. in late May.
“My residents also let their guard down in late May, early June, and I also think some of the protests we had here contributed,” he said on “Face the Nation.”
To stop the spread of the virus, Giménez issued the city’s order to wear a mask, which now requires one at all times, and closed its beaches during the July 4 holiday weekend, as well as establishments where people they can congregate, like cinemas and theaters. Bowling alleys.
“The virus is not harmless,” said Giménez.
Florida reported Sunday that there are more than 200,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the state and 9,999 new cases among residents. In the United States, there have been more than 2.8 million confirmed cases and 129,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
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