Austin, Texas, activates emergency alert system in response to COVID surge
CBSN
Austin, Texas, activated its emergency alert system to warn the public of a "severely worsening COVID-19 situation" as area hospitalizations continue to surge. In an alert sent via text, city authorities wrote "the Covid-19 situation in Austin is dire. Healthcare facilities are open but resources are limited due to a surge in cases."
Austin-Travis County Health Authority Dr. Desmar Walkes said in a press release on Saturday that the situation in the Texas capital is "critical." Walkes said hospital bed availability and critical care is "extremely limited in our hospital systems, not just for COVID-19 patients, but for anyone who may need treatment." "Our hospitals are severely stressed and there is little we can do to alleviate their burden with the surging cases," Walkes said. "The public has to act now and help our we will face a catastrophe in our community that could have been avoided."On May 7, health influencer Paul Saladino, M.D.. posted a video to his X account that promoted feeding "raw dairy" to infants. The post received over 90,000 views and sparked strong backlash before it was removed the following day. Saladino regularly advocates for "animal-based" diets featuring raw milk, including on his TikTok channel where he has over half a million followers.
Everywhere you look, things are getting more complicated. Our phones have over a thousand settings. Showerheads come with apps. Cars have touchscreens. Ovens have touchscreens. "There's no doubt that 'featuritis' is real," said design consultant Jakob Nielsen. "Most of these things are too complicated."
New research is adding to the evidence linking ultra-processed foods to health concerns. The study tracked people's habits over 30 years and found those who reported eating more of certain ultra-processed foods had a slightly higher risk of death — with four categories of foods found to be the biggest culprits.