Funeral homes have set up temporary morgues. Crematoriums are running overtime. Families must wait more than a week to bury their loved ones. For body couriers and funeral workers, there’s no letup in sight.
Shannon Najmabadi
Shannon Najmabadi was a reporter at the Tribune from 2017 to 2021, most recently covering women's health. Her stories — on higher education and other topics — have prompted lawmakers to change three state laws, including one involving a very narrow definition of the word “pickle.” She is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and Columbia University.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Texas hospitals are running out of drugs, beds, ventilators and even staff
Many Texas hospitals are no longer accepting transfer patients in order to maintain space for a surge that’s expected to come. In some parts of the state, it’s already here.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Feeding tubes, hallucinations and numb toes: One Texan’s battle to survive COVID-19
When pharmacist Frank Arredondo was wheeled on a stretcher into a South Texas ward for coronavirus patients in early April, his wife wondered if they would ever see each other again.
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Coronavirus in Texas
“How many more are coming?” What it’s like inside hospitals as coronavirus grips Texas’ Rio Grande Valley
The surge in coronavirus cases has slammed hospitals in the Rio Grande Valley. Additional wards have opened. Doctors and nurses pull extra shifts. And the stream of sick people, some gasping for air, keeps growing.
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Demographics
Supreme Court affirms abortion protections, strikes down Louisiana abortion law
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana law Monday that would have curtailed access to abortions in the state. It was nearly identical to a measure the court overturned in Texas in 2016.
Posted in
Health care
Want a coronavirus test in Texas? You may have to wait for hours in a car.
Months into the pandemic, demand for coronavirus tests is soaring. Texans report problems with almost every facet of the testing process, starting with the glitching websites and unanswered phone lines used to schedule appointments, and extending to long lags before test results come back.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Some Texas cities revive plans to add hospital bed capacity at convention centers if coronavirus cases climb
“The setting will be similar to a Medical-Surgical Unit with a capability of treating critical care patients,” reads a description for a 100-bed site in Austin, according to an email obtained by The Texas Tribune.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Texas’ coronavirus positivity rate exceeds “warning flag” level Abbott set as businesses reopened
In early May, Gov. Greg Abbott pointed to the positivity rate — a ratio of positive COVID-19 tests to all tests — and said anything over 10% was cause for alarm. As of Wednesday, Texas exceeded that mark for the first time since April.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Coronavirus patients crowd some Texas ICUs as Gov. Greg Abbott touts “abundant” hospital capacity
Regionally, some hospital officials are reporting that intensive care units are near or over capacity, and local leaders have warned that hospitals could get overwhelmed if the number of infections keeps climbing.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Texas is heading down a dangerous path, local leaders warn as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations surge
When Gov. Greg Abbott let businesses start reopening, he pointed to two metrics as encouraging signs: the hospitalization rate and the infection rate. Both of those metrics are on the rise in Texas.
