Texas Requests 5 Mobile Morgues

Texas has asked the federal government to supply five trailers to serve as morgues with COVID-19 deaths in the state expected to mount. Texas Department of State Health Services spokesman Doug Loveday tells NBC News that the request was made Aug. 4 as "we are anticipating a need within the state of Texas for these trailers as COVID cases and hospitalizations continue to increase." Another spokesman described the move as a precaution. Five mortuary trailers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will be based in San Antonio but can be transported to other cities as needed. While San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg wasn't aware of the request, a spokesman tells NBC that it "makes sense" since "deaths are starting to mount for sure."

• The state has averaged 80 COVID-19 deaths per day over the last week—the highest average since March 16 of this year.
• Hospitals are slammed. WFAA reports that 12 of 22 hospital regions in the state had 10 or fewer ICU beds available at the start of the week, and some of the regions— Abilene, Lufkin, Waco, Bryan, Beaumont, Laredo, and Corpus Christi—had none at all.
• The AP notes that "confusion reigned" in school districts after the state Supreme Court stopped mask mandates in Dallas and San Antonio, two of the state's largest districts, just before the start of school.

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