Border cities ramp up medical technology in fight against COVID-19
Two border communities are calling in reinforcements — in the form of state-of-the-art medical technology — to battle COVID-19.
El Paso hopes to complete installation by next week of a chamber capable of disinfecting thousands of the scarce N-95 surgical masks used by first responders and front-line medical workers caring for infected patients. Juarez awaits the arrival of a rapid diagnostic GeneExpert platform that can process swab samples in 45 minutes, Mexican officials said.
COVID-19 closures costing SeaWorld parks tons of money
SeaWorld Entertainment is reporting a 30 percent drop in revenue during its first quarter in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The company, which is based in Orlando, said revenue dropped by $67 million when compared to its first-quarter last year with 1 million fewer visitors at its SeaWorld Parks.
Group tracks ICE deportation flights, questions why they continued during pandemic
The migrant advocacy group Witness at the Border has released a report that is critical of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for operating deportation flights during the COVID-19 pandemic, and says most chartered expulsion flights this year have originated in South Texas. The group’s methodology, however, has come into question, because ICE does not release specific information on these charter flights and the group’s leader told Border Report on Friday that their data is derived from extrapolations and on-ground observations.
