The latest demographics news from The Texas Tribune.
Hundreds of debt collection lawsuits have been filed since Gov. Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster because of COVID-19 in mid-March, according to the Health Care Research and Policy Team at Johns Hopkins University. Full Story
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Mask arguments among Texans are occurring everywhere from retail stores to the highest levels of government. Full Story
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It's unclear whether Texas will expand who is eligible for a mail-in ballot during the pandemic, as other states have. But the people who normally qualify to vote by mail can still do so in July. Full Story
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Harris County has seen new cases plateau under the county judge. But her orders designed to slow the spread of the new coronavirus have generated outrage among some conservatives. Full Story
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In a series of tweets and a public statement, Paxton said eligibility for absentee voting has not been expanded. But a state judge's order says otherwise. Full Story
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The coronavirus disproportionately affects people of color. And judging by what voters said in the last University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll, it's evident that Texans of color express greater concern about it. Full Story
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Barbers reported being booked through the day due to pent-up demand related to the coronavirus. Full Story
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Friday was the first day that shopping malls — along with restaurants, retail outlets and movie theaters — were allowed to reopen in Texas. Under an order from Gov. Greg Abbott, stores can open their doors, but they must limit occupancy to no more than 25% of capacity. Full Story
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Sixty-two percent of front-line workers in the 11 Texas cities with the the largest populations of front-line workers are women, compared with 48% of all workers there, the analysis shows. Full Story
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As the coronavirus spreads, black people are less likely to have access to proper health care and more likely to have health issues that make the virus more dangerous. Full Story
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A workforce of immigrants has long powered the massive JBS meatpacking plant in Cactus, where a cluster of coronavirus cases is under investigation. They're risking their lives each shift in the county with the state's highest known infection rate. Full Story
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The emerging national picture shows black Americans disproportionately getting sick and dying from COVID-19. The same trend may be playing out in Texas' black and Hispanic communities, but sparse data has been collected. Full Story
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The Labor Department has urged employers to “be judicious” in exempting their workers. Critics say the exemption hurts nurses and doctors, who have already complained about their lack of protective equipment. Full Story
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“If the virus has already been named by the [World Health Organization] as COVID-19, any renaming is highly politically charged and motivated,” said one researcher. Full Story
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The Republican Texas senator alluded to a now-debunked myth that the outbreak began after a woman ate bat soup. And he incorrectly cited China as the birthplace of two previous outbreaks. Full Story
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Local, state and national leaders are recommending people take a range of actions to protect themselves from the new coronavirus. But for those without homes, many of those measures are next to impossible. Full Story
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Years of work went into planning neighborhood canvasses and educational efforts to reach out to every Texan, especially those most likely to be missed in the tally. Now those efforts are down for the count. Full Story
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The accuracy of the count in the state will go a long way toward determining its economic, social and political future. Full Story
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If there is an epicenter of the new coronavirus in Texas, it’s arguably Fort Bend County, which had the first confirmed case of COVID-19 outside of the federal quarantine site in San Antonio. There are six total cases there now, all stemming from an Egypt cruise trip. Full Story
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In a federal lawsuit filed in Laredo, Democrats claim the move to end straight-ticket voting is unconstitutional and intentionally discriminates against Hispanic and black voters. Full Story
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