Amarillo Needed Another Mobile Morgue To Store Bodies
Amarillo Mayor Ginger Nelson confirmed today that the city needed an additional mobile tracker trailer morgue to handle the number of patients that have died from COVID-19. The city also confirmed that area hospitals have run out of patient beds.
Texas was the first state in the country to exceed one million cases this week; California also gained one million cases today as well. The Texas Department of State Health Services reported 10,097 new coronavirus cases Wednesday, the second day in a row new cases surpassed 10,000. The state’s high for new cases recorded in a single day was 10,791 on July 15. State health officials initially reported 10,865 cases Tuesday. However, they corrected the figure after realizing that Brazoria County lumped 260 “probable cases” into its daily total.
But taking population into account, Texas ranks roughly 25th among U.S. states and territories for the number of cases per 100,000 people, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa rank the highest in cases per 100,000 residents.
In mid-September, Governor Abbott relaxed capacity limits for businesses in much of the state, including restaurants, retail stores and gyms, citing declining hospitalizations.
Hospitalizations have risen by more than 90% since then.
Abbott later said that bars could reopen at 50% capacity starting Oct. 14 with the approval of local officials, again as long as COVID-19 patients take up no more than 15% of available beds in the hospital service area. Amarillo is not included and bars remain closed.