This archive report was first published on 6 July 2020.
As the US grapples with the devastating impact of COVID-19, hospitals in Texas are facing a dire situation, with beds full and calls for fresh stay-at-home orders growing.
According to Lina Hidalgo, chief executive of Harris County, which includes Houston, Texas, hospitals in the region are operating at surge capacities, with operational beds taken up.
'Our hospitals here in Harris County, Houston, and 33 other cities... they're into surge capacities. So their operational beds are taken up,' Hidalgo said in an interview with ABC TV.
She urged the need for a stay-home order to combat the spread of the virus, saying, 'What we need right now is to do what works, which is a stay-home order.'
Other mayors, including Steve Adler of Austin, Texas, and Kate Gallego of Phoenix, Arizona, have also expressed concern about the healthcare system buckling under the pressure of the disease.
'If we don't change the trajectory, then I am within two weeks of having our hospitals overrun. And in our ICUs, I could be 10 days away from that,' Adler told CNN.
Meanwhile, in India, the country has reported a record daily number of cases, with 25,000 cases and 613 deaths in 24 hours, the biggest daily spike since the first case was detected in late January.
India's uneven medical facilities and the likelihood of many COVID-19 infections going undiagnosed have raised concerns about the true scale of the pandemic.
Published on July 6, 2020, at 01:56:20 AM.
