得克萨斯州奥斯汀——得克萨斯州已确认超过20，000人冠状病毒周一死亡人数，随着新冠肺炎在美国继续激增。
约翰霍普金斯大学的研究人员称，这是美国第二高的死亡人数，仅次于纽约。这是第22高的人均死亡率，每10万人中有69.7人死亡。
到目前为止，德克萨斯州领导人没有给出任何迹象表明即将出台限制措施来阻止人们聚集和传播病毒。相反，共和党州长格雷格·艾伯特(Greg Abbott)最近几天一直强调，新的疗法和疫苗预计将很快上市。
上周，一家州上诉法院站在德克萨斯州司法部长肯·帕克斯顿一边，解除了埃尔帕索当地的关闭令，那里的移动停尸房正被卡车运进来，以帮助不堪重负的医院和殡仪馆。
埃尔帕索郡停尸房在“不堪重负”后向埃尔帕索郡警察局寻求帮助，埃尔帕索郡警察局公共事务主任克里斯·阿科斯塔说。阿科斯塔在一份声明中说，该县拘留设施的囚犯“被要求帮助支付每小时2美元的津贴”。
据Acosta称，自11月9日以来，拘留设施信任计划的4至8名参与者每天都自愿参加。她说，他们由一名治安官代表和两名拘留官员陪同，并配备了个人防护设备。阿科斯塔说，志愿者是犯有轻罪的最低羁押囚犯，他们的志愿服务是暂时的，“因为我们正在等待国民警卫队接管。”
上周，得克萨斯州也成为美国第一个记录超过100万例新冠肺炎确诊病例的州。它最近还超过了人口最多的州加利福尼亚，记录了最高数量的冠状病毒阳性检测。感染的真实人数可能更高，因为许多人没有经过测试，研究表明人们可以被感染，而不会感到恶心。
夏天，新冠肺炎患者淹没了休斯顿和墨西哥边境里奥格兰德河谷的医院。但在秋季，病例数量下降，雅培开始放宽一些冠状病毒限制，允许餐馆和健身房让更多的人进入。他还让县领导决定是否要以50%的产能重新开放酒吧。
从那以后，病毒开始传播。
过去两周，每日新增病例滚动平均数增加了3，430.4例，增幅为53.6%。
德克萨斯州现在人均新发病例数排在全国第31位，过去两周每10万人中有428.3例新发病例。过去一周，德克萨斯州每417人中就有一人检测呈阳性。
与此同时，美国最高法院周一表示，德克萨斯州刑事司法部门已经基本满足了休斯顿地区监狱囚犯对安全设备的需求。法院同意联邦上诉法院的意见，该法院此前取消了联邦法官4月份对TDCJ向囚犯提供洗手液、口罩和无限制使用肥皂的命令。索尼娅·索托马约尔法官和埃琳娜·卡根法官持不同意见。
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科罗纳多是美联社/美国国务院新闻报道倡议的成员。“为美国报道”是一个非盈利性的国家服务项目，它让记者在当地的新闻编辑室报道未报道的问题。
Texas surpasses 20,000 virus deaths, second highest in US
AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas surpassed 20,000 confirmedcoronavirusdeaths Monday, as COVID-19 continues to surge in the United States.
That is the second-highest death count overall in the U.S., trailing only New York, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins University. It's the 22nd-highest per capita at 69.7 deaths per 100,000 people.
So far, Texas leaders have given no indication of forthcoming restrictions to keep people from gathering and spreading the virus. Instead, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in recent days has been emphasizing that new therapeutics and vaccines are expected to become available soon.
A state appeals court last week sided with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and lifted a local shutdown order in El Paso, where mobile morgues are being trucked in to help overwhelmed hospitals and funeral homes.
The El Paso county morgue reached out to the El Paso Sheriff's Department for help after it became “overwhelmed,” according to El Paso Sheriff's Department Public Affairs Director Chris Acosta. Inmates of the county's detention facility “were asked to help for a stipend of $2 an hour,” Acosta said in a statement.
According to Acosta, between four and eight participants of the detention facility's trusty program have volunteered daily since Nov. 9. She said they are accompanied by a sheriff's deputy and two detention officers and are provided with personal protective equipment. The volunteers are minimum custody inmates with misdemeanor offenses, Acosta said, and their volunteer service is temporary “since we are waiting for the National Guard to take over.”
Texas also became America’s first state to record more than 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases last week. It also recently surpassed California, the most populous state, in recording the highest number of positive coronavirus tests. The true number of infections is likely higher because many people haven’t been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected and not feel sick.
During the summer, people with COVID-19 overwhelmed hospitals in Houston and in the Rio Grande Valley, along the border with Mexico. But in the fall case numbers dipped, and Abbott began relaxing some coronavirus restrictions, allowing restaurants and gyms to let more people inside. He also let county leaders decide if they wanted to reopen bars at 50% capacity.
Since then, the virus has spread.
Over the past two weeks, the rolling average number of daily new cases has increased by 3,430.4, an increase of 53.6%.
Texas now ranks 31st in the country for new cases per capita, with 428.3 new cases per 100,000 people over the past two weeks. One in every 417 people in Texas tested positive in the past week.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court said Monday that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice had substantially met the demands of inmates at a Houston area facility for safety equipment. The court agreed with a federal appeals court, which previously cancelled a federal judge’s April order for TDCJ to provide inmates with hand sanitizer, masks and unrestricted access to soap. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan dissented.
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Acacia Coronado is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
