Miami & Houston Hospitals Run Out of ICU Beds

By Democracy Now

HAVANA TIMES – In Florida, confirmed coronavirus cases topped 300,000 Wednesday, even as Disney World completed a phased reopening of its Orlando theme parks. Miami hospitals have run out of regular intensive care beds, with new patients moved into converted ICUs. Governor Ron DeSantis said he was mobilizing 1,000 medical workers to fill critical staffing shortages.

US Army Deploys to Houston as Hospital Beds Fill to Capacity

The U.S. continues to shatter coronavirus records, with 41 U.S. states recording increasing cases of COVID-19. More than 67,000 new cases were reported Wednesday, nearly tying the previous daily record. The official U.S. death toll is now over 137,000. In Houston, Texas, the U.S. Army deployed hundreds of medical personnel to set up a COVID-19 ward in United Memorial Medical Center as intensive care units filled to capacity. Texas Congressmember Sheila Jackson Lee toured the hospital Wednesday.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee: “Whenever you enlist the United States military for assistance, you are at a peak crisis period. I think that is important for everyone who thinks this is going away, COVID-19, anyone who thinks we’re at the end of it.”

The Houston Independent School District said Wednesday it will start the school year with at least six weeks of online classes, with a tentative plan to open classrooms in late October.