Texas unemployment claims continue to rise as Texans struggle to file. The Texas Workforce Commission is expanding its call centers, servers and staff, but many still face delays.
Stories by Texas Tribune fellows
The Texas Tribune welcomes a group of student fellows into our newsroom each spring, summer and fall. Here is a sampling of their work. Learn more about the fellowship program here.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Baylor University announces up to $80 million in budget cuts in wake of coronavirus pandemic
The private school, anticipating a drop in enrollment next school year, is one of the first major Texas colleges to announce budget cuts due to the public health and economic crises.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Texas doctors are using plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients to treat others. They’re not yet sure if it will work.
The method has been used to treat the sick in past epidemics, and it’s generally considered low risk. Doctors around the nation have started using it on the sickest COVID-19 patients.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Texas banned abortion during the pandemic, but she got one anyway. How the legal battle is creating confusion for clinics
The courts volleyed back and forth this week, siding in turns with the state and then with abortion providers. But clinics across the state are responding inconsistently, with some shutting down altogether while they await a final answer.
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Coronavirus in Texas
More Texans filed for unemployment in the last 4 weeks than all of 2019
The numbers are early — but incomplete — indicators of how dramatically and suddenly the state’s economy has collapsed under social distancing orders officials issued to curb the still growing public health crisis spurred by the novel coronavirus.
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Coronavirus in Texas
State-run homes for Texans with developmental disabilities aren’t ready for coronavirus outbreaks, some workers warn
Officials say they’re ramping up support by providing more testing across Texas and additional personnel for facilities where the virus has been detected. But people close to the facilities have reported that the state is responding too slowly to the emergency.
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Coronavirus in Texas
“I feel like I’m pregnant during the apocalypse”: How expectant Texas mothers are navigating the pandemic
Expectant mothers across the state are worried about finding baby supplies or giving birth alone. So far, Texas hospitals have sharply restricted their visitor policies, but none have prohibited visitors in delivery rooms.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Cancel chemo or risk compromised immune system? Cancer patients and oncologists confront coronavirus challenges
To combat coronavirus, hospitals and medical providers were told to cancel procedures and surgeries that aren’t urgent. But cancer patients facing delayed chemotherapy treatments say the stakes are higher for them.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Hundreds of UT-Austin students went to Cabo San Lucas for spring break. Nearly 50 have coronavirus.
The number of students with positive tests continues to grow as the University of Texas at Austin is now aware of 211 students who traveled to Cabo San Lucas for Spring Break.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Coronavirus outbreak at Texas City nursing home follows cluster of patients at San Antonio facility
Officials in both regions are tracking the movements of nursing home staffers, many of whom work at multiple facilities.