Many hospital staffers have stayed in the medical facilities all week—knowing there was no heat or water at home. At least hospitals have generators for basic electricity. Some had water hauled in to fill tanks or hired water tankers. Others had running, but not potable water.
“We’re overwhelmed, way more than we’ve been with COVID,” said Kathuria, who works in several Austin-area emergency rooms. “This system failure has completely rocked us in our ERs—and in our own homes.”
Ocasio-Cortez Joins Push for Investigation Into New York’s Virus Response
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) joined the growing number of state and federal legislators calling for a probe into how New York’s top officials, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo, handled nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
New York state undercounted deaths with COVID-19 among nursing home residents, the state’s attorney general found. State officials disclosed that nearly 4,000 residents died after having been moved to hospitals, on top of the 8,740 who died inside of nursing homes.
USC Planning to Reopen Campus Classes in Fall
The University of Southern California expects to reopen campuses this fall, joining the state’s major public universities in planning to resume on-campus life curtailed by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes the disease COVID-19.
USC President Carol Folt issued an online letter Friday that said she is “cautiously optimistic” because virus cases are down and vaccinations are ramping up. USC and other universities nationwide were forced to switch to online learning last March.
Mexico Posts 857 More Deaths, 7,829 New Cases
Mexico on Friday registered 857 additional fatalities due to the CCP virus, bringing the total in the country to 178,965 deaths.
According to health ministry data, Mexico also registered 7,829 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection, for a total of 2,030,491 cases.
Airbus CEO Urges Trade War Ceasefire, Easing of Travel Bans
The head of European planemaker Airbus called on Saturday for a “ceasefire” in a transatlantic trade war over aircraft subsidies, saying tit-for-tat tariffs on planes and other goods had aggravated damage from the CCP virus crisis.
Washington progressively imposed import duties of 15 percent on Airbus jets from 2019 after a prolonged dispute at the World Trade Organization, and the EU responded with matching tariffs on Boeing jets a year later. Wine, whisky, and other goods are also affected.
UK Announces Small Step out of Lockdown
The British government has announced a small step out of lockdown—allowing nursing home residents to have a single friend or family member visit them indoors.
Residents and their visitors will be able to hold hands, but not hug. The change takes effect on March 8. For months, nursing home residents have only been able to see loved ones outdoors or through screens.
Zachary Stieber, The Associated Press, and Reuters contributed to this report.
