There are two reasons for increases in coronavirus cases in Texas, California, and Florida that the media refuses to discuss.
TEXAS
The largest increase in Texas coronavirus cases is at the border.
Coronavirus patients are showing up in emergency rooms after calling 911 from the US-Mexico border, according to CNN at the end of June.
“They’ll literally come to the border and call an ambulance,” says Van Gorder, president and CEO of Scripps Health, a hospital system in southern California.
The rise in ambulance traffic from the border, which several officials described to CNN, is a symptom of the pandemic’s spread in the region — and a sign of the many connections between communities in both countries.
“There just is not a wall for viruses at the border,” says Josiah Heyman, director of the Center for Inter-American and Border Studies at the University of Texas at El Paso. “The wall is an illusion because the two sides are really woven together.”
So much for the universal healthcare south of the border. They come here for care. Most crossing have dual citizenship.
An increase in cross-border coronavirus cases, which began getting public attention in May, overwhelmed some California hospitals and spurred the state to create a new patient transfer system to help.
“It’s an unprecedented surge across the border,” says Carmela Coyle, president and CEO of the California Hospital Association.
In the past five weeks, more than 500 patients have been transferred to hospitals across the state from California’s Imperial County, which has the state’s highest per capita rate of coronavirus cases — and, according to officials, has seen a large number of patients crossing from Mexico, CNN reported.
Further evidence of Cross Border migration as an increasing factor in #TexasCovid19
* 31.39% of Border Counties deaths came in last 10 days. Texas as a whole – 16.00% last 10
* 19.71% of all Texas Deaths in last 10 days reported in border counties. 3/1 thru 6/23? 10.04% https://t.co/LPu5QRew5G pic.twitter.com/SVrVvjRDEH
โ Alex Rodriguez (@therealarod1984) July 4, 2020
FLORIDA
The mayor of Miami-Dade County said Black Lives Matter had a lot to do with the increase in coronavirus cases in Florida.
Speaking with CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Mayor Carlos Gimรฉnez said, “Obviously the protests had a lot to do with it.”
“We had thousands of young people together outside, a lot of them not wearing masks, and we know that when you do that and you are talking, and you are chanting, et cetera, that really spreads the virus,” he said. “So absolutely the protests had something to do with it.”
โThe protests certainly had a lot to do with it,โ @MayorGimenez says of #covid spikes surrounding recent #BLM protests in the Miami-Dade area pic.twitter.com/Ba0JeqMkxo
โ Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) July 5, 2020
CALIFORNIA
In California, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti admitted there is a link between the protests and the surge in coronavirus cases. Originally, he denied it.
โI talked again with Dr. Ferrer about that this morning. She does think some of the spread did come from our protests,” he said.ย “Itโs not the act of protesting โ thatโs a great and American thing to do no matter what your opinion isโฆ but protesting without maintaining physicalย distancing, without wearing your mask, without having sanitizer โ we just have to be smart. Whether youโre at a protest or at your home, whether in your workplace or whether youโre out shopping, these rules donโt change.โ
He added, โWe do believe there is a connection, we donโt believe that everybody has been doing this safely and wherever you can, please stay at home.โ
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