7/26/20
As more Covid-19 records get broken, debates on whether to send kids back to school or to shut down the economy again are coming to a head.More than 1,000 people died every day for four straight days last week due to Covid-19. That brings the total US death toll from the virus to more than 146,000 as of Sunday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. And researchers project up to 175,000 deaths linked to the virus by August 15, according to an ensemble forecast published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With overwhelmed hospitals and lengthy delays in testing, some local leaders -- including Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti -- said a second stay-at-home order might be possible. That kind of drastic measure is supported by more than 150 prominent medical experts, scientists, teachers, nurses and other experts who signed a letter urging leaders to shut the country down and start over to contain the rampant spread of the virus. "Right now, we are on a path to lose more than 200,000 American lives by November 1st. Yet, in many states people can drink in bars, get a haircut, eat inside a restaurant, get a tattoo, get a massage, and do myriad other normal, pleasant, but non-essential activities," read the letter, which was sent to the Trump administration.
In Texas, which broke a record for virus-related deaths last week, doctors inside one hospital may decide to send patients home to "die by their loved ones" due to limited resources, officials said. "Unfortunately, Starr County Memorial Hospital has limited resources and our doctors are going to have to decide who receives treatment, and who is sent home to die by their loved ones," Starr County Judge Eloy Vera wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday. "This is what we did not want our community to experience." President Donald Trump has said he's putting pressure on governors to reopen schools in a push to get the US back to business as usual.
