April 29, 2020 / MICHAEL BRADY
The federal government should “immediately begin medical checks” at the U.S.-Mexico border in Southern California to slow a surge of COVID-19 cases in border communities, two hospitals said Tuesday in a letter to HHS and the Department of Homeland Security.
Scripps Health and Sharp HealthCare also asked the Trump administration to give the San Diego region “priority status to receive more personal protective equipment (PPE) and pharmaceutical supplies” because hospitals near the border are running low on critical supplies. The Federal Emergency Management Administration has also redirected supply shipments destined for the San Diego area to other parts of the country, straining local supply chains.
“The (Mexican) State of Baja California is reporting a rapidly increasing number of new positive cases per day with a lack of infrastructure, PPE, medication and workforce to control the spread of the virus,” the letter said.
