98 new virus deaths a record in Texas
Austin events center may become hospital
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas reported its deadliest day of the pandemic with nearly 100 new deaths on Wednesday as newly confirmed cases continued soaring and Austin began preparations to turn the downtown convention center into a field hospital.
The 98 reported deaths in Texas set a record one-day high, surpassing the record 60 deaths reported a day earlier. Texas is now reporting a total of 2,813 deaths.
The state also reported 9,979 new coronavirus cases Wednesday after hitting a record-high 10,028 new cases the day before. The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott aggressively began one of America’s fastest reopenings in May but has begun reversing course in recent weeks, ordering bars closed and mandating face coverings.
Hospitalizations of people with coronavirus continued to climb Wednesday, with 9,610 patients in hospitals across the state.
On Wednesday officials in Houston canceled the Texas Republican Party’s in-person convention, saying the spread of the coronavirus made it impossible to hold the event as scheduled.
Houston has emerged as one of the nation’s hot zones in the pandemic.
In Austin, local officials say they’re preparing the Austin Convention Center as a field hospital for 1,500 coronavirus patients. If needed, it could open by July 20, said Sarah Eckhardt, who is working on Travis County’s COVID-19 response.
She told the Austin American-statesman that if needed, the site would be used for hospitalized coronavirus patients in need of light care.
Meanwhile, a Texas inmate received lethal injection Wednesday evening for fatally shooting an 82-year-old man nearly three decades ago, ending a five-month delay of executions in the nation’s busiest death penalty state because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Billy Joe Wardlow was put to death at the state penitentiary in Huntsville for the June 1993 killing of Carl Cole. In other developments:
President Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa in late June that drew thousands of people, along with large protests that accompanied it, “likely contributed” to a dramatic surge in coronavirus cases, health officials said Wednesday. Tulsa County reported 261 confirmed cases on Monday, a record one-day high, and another 206 cases on Tuesday.
One of the nation’s coronavirus hot spots got a sliver a good news Wednesday when two health experts said an exponential rise in the percentage of people testing positive for the virus in Arizona appears to have leveled off. Dr. Deborah Birx, who is coordinating the White House coronavirus response, said the seven-day average for positive tests appears to no longer be rising. She called it an “encouraging” development.
Louisiana officials are sounding the alarm about coronavirus infections continuing to rise across the state, and officials in New Orleans say they will soon restrict bars and restaurants to table service in hope of reducing the disease’s resurgence.
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert is considering issuing a statewide mask mandate after discussing the issue with state legislators this week. The Republican governor held a virtual meeting with House Speaker Brad Wilson and Senate President J. Stuart Adams on Tuesday to discuss a potential state measure.
Atlanta’s mayor says she will sign an executive order mandating masks in Georgia’s largest city, defying Gov. Brian Kemp’s decision to encourage voluntary masking.