Page 25 - bon-dia-aruba-20200701

A25
U.S. NEWS Wednesday 1 July 2020
Sunbelt states rush to line up hospital beds, not barstools

Continued from Front governments from impo-
sing rules stricter than the
She warned that things are state’s.
likely to get worse before The new round of shut-
they get better. downs across the country
Hospitals in the new hot is likely to cause another
spots are already stretched spike in layoffs.
nearly to the limit and are Nikki Forsberg said she is re-
scrambling to add intensive lying on government loans
care unit beds for an ex- to keep the Old Ironhorse
pected surge in COVID-19 Saloon, the only bar in the
cases in the coming weeks. Texas Hill Country town of
Newly confirmed cases in Blanco, afloat after it was
Florida have spiked over closed for two months be-
the past week, especially in ginning in mid-March and
younger people, who may then shut down again Fri-
be more likely to survive the day by the governor’s or-
virus but can spread it to der.
the Sunshine State’s many She said money got so tight
vulnerable older residents. for some of her eight em-
The state reported more ployees during the first shut-
than 6,000 new confirmed down that she told them to
cases Tuesday. More than go the bar and take wha-
8,000 were recorded on Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, lowers tever they needed — petty
each of three days late his face mask as he prepares to testify before a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions cash, toilet paper, even
last week. Deaths have Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 30, 2020. one of the refrigerators.
climbed past 3,500. Flori- Associated Press “That’s how desperate it
dians ages 15 to 34 now have authorized “crisis theaters and gyms and ber of new cases per day got,” she said. “By the time
make up 31% of all cases, standards of care” telling banned groups larger than has soared over the past we had opened back up,
up from 25% in early June. hospitals which patients 10 at swimming pools. month, primarily in the Sou- we had stripped the bar
Last week, more than 8,000 should get a ventilator or Air conditioning could be a th and West. of all the non-liquor inven-
new confirmed cases were other scarce resources if factor in hot-weather sta- “I would not be surprised tory.”
reported in that age group, there is a shortage. tes where new cases have if we go up to to 100,000 Health officials say the next
compared with about Dignity Health, which ope- been spiking, because it a day if this does not turn several weeks will be critical
2,000 among people 55 to rates several hospitals in the recirculates air instead of around, and so I am very in Florida. The Fourth of July,
64 years old. Phoenix area, is converting bringing it in fresh from out- concerned,” Fauci said on the reopening of Walt Dis-
Hospital ICUs are starting to more areas to treat CO- side, said Dr. Kristin Englund, Capitol Hill. ney World on July 11, and
fill up in South Florida, with VID-19 patients and prepa- an infectious-disease physi- Van Johnson, mayor of the the Republican National
a steadily increasing num- ring to put multiple patients cian at Cleveland Clinic. tourism-dependent city of Convention in Jacksonville
ber of patients requiring in private rooms, spokeswo- “I definitely think the air Savannah, Georgia, an- at the end of August pro-
ventilators. Miami’s Baptist man Carmelle Malkovich conditioning and the op- nounced he is requiring the mise to draw crowds and
Hospital had only six of its said. It’s bringing nurses pressive heat in the South is wearing of masks, with vio- create the potential for
82 ICU beds available, of- from underutilized hospitals going to play a role in this,” lators subject to $500 fines. person-to-person spread.
ficials said. in its system to Arizona, and she said. Savannah, population While cities like Miami, Fort
In hard-hit Arizona, hospi- hiring traveling nurses and The coronavirus has been 145,000, becomes one of Lauderdale, St. Petersburg
tals are looking for ways to respiratory therapists throu- blamed for over a half- the first cities in Georgia to and Sarasota have man-
cram more beds into their ghout July. million deaths worldwide, take such a step. Republi- dated masks, some peop-
facilities and hiring out-of- Republican Gov. Doug Du- including about 130,000 in can Gov. Brian Kemp has le in Florida have been
state nurses. State officials cey shut down bars, movie the U.S., where the num- largely prohibited local resistant.q

UNC fined $1.5M for inadequate campus crime reporting

By BRYAN ANDERSON crime statistics" at the uni- Committee and undergo
Associated Press versity. The lack of com- three years of continued
Raleigh, N.C. (AP) — The pliance with the Clery Act monitoring by the edu-
University of North Carolina and Higher Education Act cation department. UNC
at Chapel Hill announced fire safety rules was partial- Chancellor Kevin Guskie-
Tuesday that it will pay a ly fueled by "administrative wicz said in a statement
$1.5 million fine to the U.S. weaknesses," according that the shortcomings
Department of Education to the review of crime and noted in the report were
to resolve a dispute over its safety reporting between "disappointing and do not
failure to fully report infor- 2009 and 2017. Under the meet our standards for
mation about crimes that settlement agreement an- excellence," but said the
occurred on campus. nounced on Tuesday, the university "is committed to
A report from the educa- university waived its right preventing, responding to
tion department in August to appeal any potential and accurately reporting
2019 outlined a years-long fines that could have re- crimes, and to issuing time- Class of 2020 graduates of the University of North Carolina take
"persistent failure to com- sulted from last year's re- ly notice about any known pictures at the Old Well on campus in Chapel Hill, N.C., Tuesday,
pile and disclose accurate view. It also agreed to safety threats to our cam- June 30, 2020.
and complete campus form a Clery Compliance pus community."q Associated Press