Texas will start posting coronavirus case data from public schools, education commissioner says
The data will be posted on a state website and the reporting process will be finalized after input from school superintendents. Full Story
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Emma Platoff
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Emma Platoff was a reporter at the Tribune from 2017 to 2021, most recently covering the law and its intersection with politics. A graduate of Yale University, Emma is the former managing editor of the Yale Daily News.
Past Contributions
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![Partitions made from clear shower curtains and PVC pipe separate desks in a fourth grade classroom at Abilene's Texas Leadership Charter Academy. The barriers are to prevent children from potentially spreading coronavirus to classmates when school resumes later this month.]()
Credit: Ronald W. Erdrich/Abilene Reporter-News -
Texas becomes fourth state to surpass 10,000 COVID-19 deaths
New Jersey, New York and California have also exceeded 10,000 known COVID-19 fatalities. Experts say official death tolls are all but certain to be undercounts. Full Story
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Coronavirus testing in Texas plummets as schools prepare to reopen
Texas' low number of tests and large percentage of positive results suggest inadequacies in the state's public health surveillance effort at a time when school reopenings are certain to increase viral spread, health experts said. Full Story
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![Medical workers wearing personal protective equipment test for COVID-19 at a testing site at Memorial Park Aquatic Facility in El Paso on July, 16, 2020.]()
Credit: Joel Angel Juarez for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wants judge recused from his criminal case, promising further delays in years-old prosecution
Paxton was indicted for felony securities fraud in July 2015 but has yet to go to trial as attorneys duke out side battles over venue and prosecutor pay. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks to delegates at the Texas Republican Convention in San Antonio on June 15, 2018.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas to allow limited visitation in nursing homes with no active coronavirus cases
Nursing homes remain hot spots for the virus, with 57% still reporting active cases. Limited visits will be allowed both indoors and outdoors at facilities where there are no cases among residents or staff. Full Story
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![Gracy Woods Nursing Center on July 24, 2020 in Austin.]()
Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune -
Five lawmakers sue Gov. Greg Abbott over $295 million contact tracing deal
“The Texas Constitution requires a separation of powers, and that separation leaves policy-making decisions with the Texas Legislature,” argues a lawsuit from five of the Legislature’s most conservative members. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott holds a press conference after talking to local and county officials about the damage done by Hurricane Hanna in Nueces and Kleberg Counties, on Tuesday, July 28, 2020.]()
Credit: Courtney Sacco/Caller-Times via REUTERS -
Why Texas’ coronavirus data comes with caveats
It’s hard to collect good numbers on an unknown virus, and Texas health officials have made errors. But experts say the state’s coronavirus data is useful as long as users understand its limitations. Full Story
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![COVID-19 test samples are organized into coolers at a mobile testing site at Uhland Elementary School in Uhland on June 18, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Across Texas and the nation, the novel coronavirus is deadlier for people of color
New data on Texas coronavirus fatalities reveals stark racial disparities. Full Story
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![Juan Lopez wheels a stretcher out of the back of his vehicle in the early morning in McAllen. Lopez is picking up the body of a person who recently passed away from COVID-19. July 17, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Cecile Young to lead Texas Health and Human Services Commission
Young, a longtime public servant, will take the helm of an agency of nearly 37,000 employees as it navigates a worsening pandemic and a host of lingering internal problems. Full Story
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![Texas Health and Human Services Commission Executive Commissioner Cecile Erwin Young.]()
Credit: Texas Health and Human Services Commission -
Texas biotech facility in College Station tapped to mass-produce potential COVID-19 vaccine
The Texas A&M University System Center for Innovation in Advanced Development and Manufacturing has a federal contract to mass-manufacture doses of a candidate COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Novavax. Full Story
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![Graduate research assistant Nicole Johnson researches viral proteins at the McLellan Lab at The University of Texas at Austin on March 11, 2020.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune
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