With Gov. Greg Abbott resisting calls for a statewide stay-at-home order, local officials are tasked with deciding which businesses and employees are essential. This strategy means the rules differ from county to county, and many employees are confused about why they’re being called in to work.
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.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Coronavirus is officially in Texas prisons and jails. Now what?
The Texas prison system and Dallas County both reported the first Texas cases of inmates testing positive for the new coronavirus this week. Self-quarantines and social distancing aren’t always possible for those who’ve been exposed.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Hidalgo County breaks out the megaphones in scramble to salvage census push
Coaxing census participation was going to be hard enough in some of Texas’ poorest communities. With coronavirus restrictions, organizers turned to driving sound trucks around colonias on the border, but now even that won’t be possible.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Gov. Greg Abbott orders air travelers from New Orleans and around New York to self-quarantine
The order aligns Texas with federal guidance announced Wednesday that aims to contain the spread of the virus outside New York, which has become the epicenter of the outbreak in the United States.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Texas regulators vote to ban residential utility shut-offs during pandemic while buoying companies
The Texas Public Utility Commission approved an order Thursday that would ban disconnections of water and power service for Texans financially impacted by COVID-19 and put them on deferred payment plans. But advocates and experts say the real winner might be utility providers.
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Coronavirus in Texas
A quilter, a chocolate maker and a man on a mission: Meet the Texans improvising masks for doctors
In fabric shops and on factory floors, the race is on to make and manufacture personal protective equipment in Texas before supplies run out for those on the front lines of the coronavirus outbreak.
Watch a live interview with Dr. Peter Hotez on coronavirus in Texas and the search for a vaccine
We sat down for a live virtual event with Hotez to discuss the impacts of the novel coronavirus outbreak in Texas and the development process for a vaccine.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Watch Texas Gov. Greg Abbott provide a coronavirus update
Abbott is set to provide an update on the state’s response to the new coronavirus at 2 p.m. in Austin. He’ll be joined by the commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services and the head of the Texas Division of Emergency Management.
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Coronavirus in Texas
The number of Texans filing for unemployment increased 860% in a week
Two weeks ago, 16,176 Texans filed for new unemployment benefits. But just one week later — after leaders shut down businesses across the state to slow the spread of the new coronavirus — that number jumped up to 155,657 out-of-work people filing for unemployment relief.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Texas campaigns prepare for more uncertainty after runoff reset by coronavirus
With the runoff date pushed back seven weeks, the coronavirus pandemic continues to cast a long shadow over Texas politics.