The expanded qualifications now include people who don’t have access to child care because schools and day cares are closed to everyone but the children of essential workers.
Coronavirus in Texas
As the coronavirus spread across the state, The Texas Tribune covered the most important health, economic, academic and breaking developments that affected Texans. Our map tracker showed the number of cases, deaths, tests and vaccinations in Texas from 2020-22.
In West Texas, volunteers manufacture medical supplies and amateur pilots deliver to remote hospitals
A volunteer air force of more than 1,000 amateur aviators has come together to transport essential medical supplies in a part of the state where the cities are far-flung and the roads are notoriously dangerous from oil-related traffic.
Texas still won’t say which nursing homes have COVID-19 cases. Families are demanding answers.
Citing a state medical privacy law, Texas is refusing to release the names of long-term care facilities where residents have died from COVID-19, even as those case numbers soar and families plead for information.
As Texas Gov. Greg Abbott phases in reopening, some in his party are testing his rules
Abbott’s instinct so far has been mostly to deescalate, staving off confrontations that could hobble the careful course he is charting.
Coronavirus in Texas: State’s beaches set to reopen Friday
Our staff is closely tracking developments on the new coronavirus in Texas. Check here for live updates.
“This ain’t the time to follow rules”: Texas A&M wants to run human coronavirus tests in its animal labs
A&M officials say they have the largest public lab capacity in the state, but the federal government won’t let them use it for humans.
Health experts give Abbott’s plan to reopen Texas mixed reviews, warn state should revive stay-at-home order if surge emerges
Many health experts said the governor was right to open the economy in phases, but some cautioned that his timeline was too quick.
Texas sending restaurant and retail employees back to work without child care
Restaurant, retail and movie theater workers may be called back to work as soon as Friday. But licensed child care remains open only for children of “essential” workers.
Texas voters sue over age restrictions for mail-in ballots
The voters — all between the ages of 18 and 28 — want the courts to rule that the state’s age restriction for voting by mail, which limits eligibility to those 65 and older, violates constitutional protections.
Federal government sued for denying stimulus checks to Americans married to undocumented immigrants
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, is alleging that a provision in the $2.2 trillion stimulus package known as the CARES Act that denies the benefit to mixed-status families in unconstitutional.


