10 August 2021
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced several new initiatives Monday to help address a surge in COVID-19 infections, including asking hospitals to delay nonessential medical procedures in order to free up hospital beds for COVID-19 patients, and requesting out-of-state medical personnel to come help with the surge in cases.
Why it matters: Even as Abbott now makes moves to counter the coronavirus surge, he remains staunchly opposed to public health measures that would mitigate the virus' spread.
State of play: Out-of-state healthcare workers will be brought in to bolster COVID-19 operations, a reversal from the state's policy in July, notes the Texas Tribune.
- Abbott also instructed state agencies to open more COVID-19 antibody infusion centers across the state to treat COVID-19 patients with therapeutic drugs.
- Abbott also directed state agencies to "increase vaccination availability across the state," per the press release.
The big picture: The new measures did not include a reversal of Abbott's opposition to public health restrictions.
- In late July Abbott issued a state-wide ban on mask and vaccine mandates on July 29, saying "the path forward relies on personal responsibility."
- Texas schools are also not required to conduct contact tracing.
Editor's Note: This story has been updated.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.