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2021-08-18 -Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
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Texas requests mortuary trailers as COVID precaution amid border crisis while readying for Afghan refugees
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[FoxNews] Texas is requesting five mortuary trailers in anticipation of an increase in dead bodies as the delta variant spikes, while the state also prepares to house thousands of Afghan refugees in addition to coping with the border crisis.
"We are anticipating a need within the state of Texas for these trailers as COVID cases and hospitalizations continue to increase," Department of State Health Services spokesperson Doug Loveday said Monday, adding that the trailers were requested on Aug. 4.
The trailers would come from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and be stationed in San Antonio, where they would then move to various Texas locations if local leaders request them, Loveday told NBC News.
"We haven't gotten any local requests, but we want to be ready with the COVID cases in the state," Department of State Health Services Chris Van Deusen added, according to the outlet. "We didn't want to wait."
The seven-day average of coronavirus deaths in Texas sits at about 80 per day.
The announcement comes as Texas and other border states face a continued migration crisis, with last month seeing a total of 212,672 encounters – a 13% spike compared to encounters in June.
In the city of McAllen, for example, an emergency shelter was expanded this month to keep up with the number of COVID-positive migrants. City officials said more than 7,500 COVID-positive migrants have been released into the city since February, with 1,500 released over one week in August alone.
Now, Texas is bracing for another influx of people in the state amid the virus: Afghan refugees fleeing the Taliban.
"We want to have the capacity to get up to several thousand immediately, and want to be prepared for the potential of tens of thousands," Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby told Fox News this week of refugees being housed in the U.S. "Bliss and McCoy have the capability right now – and what’s advantageous is, with a little bit of work, they could increase their capacity in very short order."
"Once we get more airlift out of Kabul, we’re going to put as many people on those planes as we can. There will be a mix, not just American citizens, but perhaps some Afghan SIV applicants as well," Kirby said. "We’re going to focus on getting people out of the country, then sorting it out at the next stop. It’s not going to be just Americans first, then SIV applicants. We’re going to focus on getting as many folks out as we can."
The state will take in at least 300 refugees this week, with more expected in the coming weeks, according to Refugee Services of Texas, Houston Public Media reported. 
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Posted by Skidmark 2021-08-18 00:00||
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File under: Human Trafficking
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Posted by Procopius2k 2021-08-18 06:14||
2021-08-18 06:14||
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Posted by NN2N1 2021-08-18 07:27||
2021-08-18 07:27||
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Posted by swksvolFF 2021-08-18 13:17||
2021-08-18 13:17||
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