Visitors previously were allowed only into long-term care facilities where there were no active cases of the virus among residents and no confirmed cases among staff members in the past two weeks.
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
Gov. Greg Abbott loosens coronavirus restrictions for restaurants and other businesses in most regions of Texas
Restaurants, retail stores and office buildings will now be able to operate at 75% capacity, Abbott said. Three regions — the Rio Grande Valley, Laredo and Victoria — were excluded from the loosening of restrictions, however.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Six months into the pandemic, out-of-work Texans are still struggling to navigate unemployment system
As 1.8 million Texans continue to claim unemployment, many complain they still can’t reach the Texas Workforce Commission and are quickly losing trust in Congress to agree to a second stimulus agreement.
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Coronavirus in Texas
How years of underfunding public health left Texas ill prepared for the pandemic
Budget cuts meant skimpier caches of protective equipment, and Texas’ chronic shortage of public health workers has made the response more difficult, experts said.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Balancing higher health risks and spotty internet, reopening college in the Rio Grande Valley is a challenge
At UT-Rio Grande Valley, administrators spent a tense summer preparing for the fall semester while local coronavirus rates spiked, the area spiraled into further economic depression and debate raged across the nation about how to safely send college students back to school.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Share of positive COVID-19 cases as Texas reopened was higher than originally reported, new state calculations show
Public health experts say discrepancies in key metrics, such as the positivity rate, made it difficult for officials to make informed policy decisions.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Gov. Greg Abbott used pandemic as cover to ban abortions in Texas, former Planned Parenthood head says
Cecile Richards, a Texas native, made the comment in an interview during The Texas Tribune Festival that aired Wednesday. Limits on abortion access earlier this year spurred legal battles.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Analysis: It’s hard to make good pandemic policy if the Texas data is fuzzy
The state’s public health experts are changing their calculation of one of the governor’s go-to measures of the spread of coronavirus. It’s an improvement, but the new version has some bugs of its own.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Texas officials change how the state reports positivity rate after testing backlogs skewed coronavirus data
The Texas Department of State Health Services said it will now rely on a calculation that takes into account the date on which a coronavirus test was administered, rather than when it was reported.
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Coronavirus in Texas
“It’s like walking into a ghost town”: Under tight pandemic restrictions, college football returns to Austin
With just over 15,000 fans in a stadium that holds more than 100,000, the University of Texas kicked off the football season after requiring mandatory COVID-19 tests for students who attended the game.