Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner on Sunday said his region’s hospital system could be overwhelmed within two weeks if the coronavirus situation doesn’t improve.
Mr. Turner said the number of people requiring hospitalization has “exponentially increased” and while the city can find new hospital beds, staffing will be a problem.
Cases started to explode around mid-June, he said, citing the reopening of the economy and the number of people socializing again after pandemic-related lockdowns earlier in the year.
“What’s most disturbing is the positivity rate has increased,” Mr. Turner told CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
He said about one in four tests are coming back positive, a rate that suggests rampant community spread of the virus.
Texas is one of several Sun Belt states seeing an explosion of reported cases. Some of that is due to increased testing, as infections that produce little or no symptoms are detected. But increases in hospital visits and positivity rates have local leaders worried.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said there is a similar trend in southern Florida. He said the virus seemed to proliferate alongside summertime parties, graduation celebrations and the like in recent weeks.
“We had it down to about 8% … now, they’re almost 20% showing up positive,” he told CBS.
Mr. Gimenez restricted alcohol sales and closed places where people congregate, including movie theaters and bowling alleys. He said he believes the protests against racial injustice were also a factor, as many young people congregated in the streets.
Both mayors said the evidence on the ground contradicts President Trump’s claim late Saturday that 99% of cases are “totally harmless.”
“The virus is not harmless, absolutely not,” Mr. Gimenez said. “If it were harmless, I would not be taking the steps I am taking in Miami-Dade.”
