Two states bring in refrigerated trucks as morgues fill up

Two counties in Texas — Cameron and Hidalgo — are sharing a large refrigerated trailer to store bodies of coronavirus patients because of a lack of space at the morgues.

“I’m pleading with everybody in our neck of the woods, help us do your part, people’s lives are at stake — not just the people getting sick, but doctors, nurses working to the bone, EMS personnel, transporting people,” Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño Jr. told CNN affiliate KVEO.

Officials look for options as hospitals fill up

As infections go up, officials nationwide are rushing to issue restrictions all over again.

Gov. Brian Kemp extended Georgia’s emergency coronavirus restrictions and said while people are “strongly encouraged” to wear face coverings — they’re not required. The order, which expires July 31, limits public gatherings to 50 people and mandates social distancing.

But his order also prevents local governments from implementing stricter rules than the state’s — including requiring face masks.

California, the country’s most populous state, set two more records Wednesday with highs for hospitalizations and intensive care unit admissions. The state announced 11,126 new cases, with a total of 6,786 Covid-19 positive hospital patients and 1,907 patients in the ICU. And in Los Angeles County, the public health director warned another stay-at-home order is likely.

“We can’t take anything off the table — there’s absolutely no certainty of what exactly is going to happen next,” Dr. Barbara Ferrer said.

California met its goal to have 10,000 contact tracers statewide by July 1, but Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said it’s not enough to handle the onslaught of coronavirus cases.

“We did not build the first contact tracing program on this level of transmission,” Ghaly said.

In South Texas, hospitals in Laredo are full and the federal government is converting a hotel into a health care facility.

Arizona health officials announced they’re bringing nearly 600 critical care and medical-surgical nurses from out of state to help.

“Covid-19 hospitalizations in Arizona have increased with hospitals reporting nearly 3,500 inpatients and more than 900 patients in their intensive care units,” the Arizona Department of Health Services said in a statement.

Public health experts say the end of the pandemic remains out of sight, and several states took steps to mandate the wearing of masks.

Alabama and Montana have said they are now required in public. In Montana, face coverings are mandatory in certain indoor group settings where more than 50 people gather and social distancing is not possible. More than 30 states now have mandates on face coverings in public.

And in Oklahoma, Gov. Kevin Stitt said he’s tested positive for Covid-19 the same day the state reported a record high number of new cases.

There were 22,813 total cases in the state, up 1,075 from Tuesday, health officials said. At least 561 people are hospitalized due to the virus.

“We do this at the request of our hospitals, our doctors and nurses, our school leaders, and so many more who want to protect the ability of local health care systems to serve Tulsans in need,” Bynum said.

Chairs sit stacked inside a closed bar in Austin, Texas.

Governor touts questionable research

With his state hit hard by a huge surge in coronavirus cases, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis applauded positive results from antibody testing, calling it a “good sign.” But scientists disagree.

Antibody tests determine whether a person had Covid-19 in the past, after the infection’s cleared. “That creates resistance in terms of the ability for the disease to spread,” DeSantis said at a news conference.

However, researchers including the World Health Organization have repeatedly said there’s no evidence to show that prior infection and developing antibodies make someone immune to future infection.

Last week, a Spanish government study suggested that coronavirus antibodies wane after a few weeks.

Dr. David de la Zerda, center, listens to the governor of Florida during a news conference on coronavirus cases in the state.

Higher death toll expected

The model from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington is projecting 224,000 people will die from the virus by November 1 — an increase of almost 16,000 from the week before.

That jump is due to skyrocketing cases around the country, particularly in Florida, Texas, Arizona, California, Louisiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah, said Dr. Chris Murray, chair of the IHME.