Thanks for downplaying the virus, governor Abbott. Sucking up to Trump will cost you, and more importantly, people’s lives.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows Texas is one of 24 states that
publicly reports only confirmed COVID deaths, not “probable” ones. And with rampant testing shortages in Texas, many patients likely died without being screened for the disease, experts said.
Texas ranks 40th out of 50 states and the District of Columbia in deaths per 100,000 population on the CDC COVID tracer. But that is potentially misleading since it compares Texas with 27 states that include “probable cases.” Nearly one in five deaths reported in New York City, the national epicenter for COVID-19, was reported as a “probable.”
The surge of cases has left doctors, nurses, and first responders in Houston overwhelmed and scores of patients wait for 12 hours or more for emergency room care or ICU beds. Earlier this week Gov. Greg Abbott warned that the death toll will rise.
“What we’re seeing now in states like Texas is comparable to what we saw in New York City,” said Bob Anderson, chief of mortality statistics for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “It remains to be seen what we will see with the rate of death. The numbers may be smaller, but the pattern is there.”