Swine flu: Things get tents in Austin

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In what some experts think may be a harbinger of things to come this fall, officials of Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin have set up tents outside the hospital to accommodate the crush of patients flooding the emergency room with symptoms of the pandemic H1N1 virus, according to the Austin American-Statesman. The two tents, which can accommodate eight to 16 beds apiece, were to be air-conditioned today.

According to the article, the hospital was on pace for an all-time record high in patients on Monday with 200 appearing before 3 p.m. That hour usually marks the beginning of the hospital’s busy period because it is when school lets out. On Sunday, 343 patients swamped the emergency room. About 10 to 15 of the ER nurses are also out sick with influenza-like illness.

-- Thomas H. Maugh II