Texas reports more than 1 million COVID-19 cases, but state officials are slow to act
Texas joins California, which has 10 million more residents than Texas, as the nation’s leaders in coronavirus cases. Full Story
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![Medical personnel wear personal protective equipment at a COVID-19 testing site at Nations Tobin Recreation Center in El Paso on Oct. 21, 2020.]()
Credit: Joel Angel Juarez for The Texas Tribune -
Appeals court temporarily stops El Paso business shutdown
A state district judge permitted the El Paso shutdown to stand last week pending a final resolution of the case, but the 8th Court of Appeals paused the shutdown until a final decision is made. That could come as soon as Friday. Full Story
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![Scenes from downtown near the international bridge on day one of the shelter-in-place order that was put in place by the county judge on Oct. 30, 2020, in El Paso. The El Paso mayor and Gov. Abbott are fighting the order in court.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
With hospitals full, El Paso extends business shutdown for three weeks
The extension comes despite the Texas attorney general’s office’s ongoing efforts to have the county order rejected by state courts. A decision is expected later in the week. Full Story
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![Medical personnel wear personal protective equipment as they register residents waiting in line at a COVID-19 testing site at El Paso Community College Valle Verde Campus in El Paso on Oct. 21, 2020.]()
Credit: Joel Angel Juárez for The Texas Tribune -
Texas A&M's football game postponed after player, staffer test positive for COVID-19
Texas A&M confirmed the new cases as football programs across the country continue to face postponements and cancellations while trying to finish the season during a pandemic. Full Story
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![People take photos with the 3-ton bronze replica of the Haynes Aggie Ring at Texas A&M University on Monday, June 15, 2020 in College Station. The ring is located outside the Clayton W. Williams Jr. Alumni Center near Kyle Field.]()
Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune -
Key U.S. Supreme Court justices sound skeptical of Texas' argument to throw out Affordable Care Act
Texas argues the entire law must fall after Congress zeroed out one critical provision. Several justices seemed unconvinced. Full Story
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Funeral homes and hospitals in parts of Texas brace for new wave of coronavirus infections and deaths
Texas is closing in on 1 million confirmed coronavirus cases, according to state data, and the pandemic has claimed more than 18,700 lives in the state. Full Story
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![Tents are set up outside the emergency room at the University Medical Center of El Paso on July, 22, 2020.]()
Credit: Joel Angel Juárez for The Texas Tribune -
What to expect as Texas heads to the U.S. Supreme Court in bid to overturn the Affordable Care Act
On Tuesday morning, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear a Texas-led challenge to the landmark health law. Full Story
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![Protestors gathered in front of the Supreme Court in Washington D.C., in 2015, to show support for the Affordable Care Act.]()
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El Paso’s shutdown order can stay in place despite attempts by the state to intervene
Local restaurants, joined by the Texas attorney general's office, had asked a judge to halt the El Paso county judge's order closing nonessential businesses for two weeks during a new COVID-19 spike. Full Story
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![New medical tents set up at University Medical Center of El Paso hospital due to the huge spike in active COVID-19 cases (11,300+) in El Paso. October 25, 2020.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
El Paso officials attribute Nov. 4 single-day record coronavirus case count to data backlog
Cases continued rising as a state district judge heard arguments Wednesday over a shutdown order issued by El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego. Judge William Moody said he would render a decision later this week on whether to temporarily halt the county order. Full Story
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![Residents wait in line at a COVID-19 testing site at the University of Texas at El Paso on Election Day in El Paso on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020.]()
Credit: Joel Angel Juarez for The Texas Tribune -
Tarrant County faces delayed counts for its tightest races due to staffing shortages
Officials are warning that coronavirus-related staffing shortages mean elections workers are unlikely to finish counting mail-in ballots Tuesday night, potentially leaving the county’s tightest races undecided until later this week. Full Story
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![Voters cast their ballots at Audelia Road Branch Library on the first day of early voting in Dallas on Oct. 13, 2020.]()
Credit: Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune -
El Paso businesses caught in the middle of a tug-of-war between county judge, mayor over shutdown order
Mayor Dee Margo and County Judge Ricardo Samaniego have battled over what authority local officials have to issue stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic. Full Story
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![Scenes from downtown near the international bridge on day one of the shelter-in-place order that was put in place by the county judge Oct. 30, 2020, in El Paso. The El Paso mayor and Gov. Abbott are fighting the order in court.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
El Paso County’s judge has ordered nonessential businesses to close to slow coronavirus spread. The Texas attorney general says he can’t do that.
The county is experiencing a record-breaking rise of COVID-19 cases that have overwhelmed hospitals. Full Story
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![Downtown El Paso is vacant during the coronavirus pandemic.]()
Credit: Emily Kinskey for The Texas Tribune -
Texas' new coronavirus surge is leaving critically sick patients stranded in rural areas, hospitals say
Rural hospitals say they’re in a bind as larger facilities in places like Lubbock, Amarillo and El Paso fill with coronavirus patients and often cannot accept gravely ill patients who need more advanced care than small hospitals can offer. Full Story
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![The exterior of the main entrance at Eastland Memorial Hospital.]()
Credit: Gary Rhodes for The Texas Tribune -
As COVID-19 surges and curfew takes hold, El Paso leaders encourage voters to keep heading to the polls
The situation in El Paso prompted city leaders to ask residents to stay home unless it’s absolutely necessary to be out in public. But they said residents should still get out to vote. Full Story
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![An early voting site in El Paso on Monday.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Texas social workers will no longer be allowed to discriminate against LGBTQ Texans and people with disabilities
The Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council voted unanimously to restore protections for social workers' LGBTQ and disabled clients after backlash from advocates and lawmakers. Full Story
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![Activists and members of Austin's LGBTQ community gather on the steps of the capitol to celebrate the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots. These riots signify a key moment in the birth of the modern LGBT movement in America. June 28, 2017.]()
Credit: Austin Price for The Texas Tribune -
In Lubbock, pandemic fatigue sets in as hospitalizations rise
Experts and officials say people are exhausted with coronavirus restrictions and have begged them to don face coverings, socially distance and take “personal responsibility” for keeping themselves and their neighbors safe. Full Story
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![A line forms outside of Mesquites Bar and Grill in Lubbock on Oct. 17.]()
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Critics urge Texas regulators to reverse decision allowing social workers to turn away clients who are LGBTQ or have a disability
Lawmakers plan to file a bill during the 2021 session to bolster the state's nondiscrimination protections. Full Story
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![Members of Austin's LGBT community gather on the steps of the capitol to celebrate the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots on June 28, 2017.]()
Credit: Austin Price for The Texas Tribune -
State sends emergency medical personnel, supplies to El Paso as COVID-19 cases rise across Texas
A new University of Texas report says the El Paso area is at high risk of exceeding hospital bed and ICU capacity early next month, and many other Texas cities could see similar problems in the coming weeks. Full Story
![Medical personnel wear personal protective equipment as they register residents waiting in line at a COVID-19 testing site at El Paso Community College Valle Verde Campus in El Paso on Oct. 21, 2020.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott didn't require masks at polling places. It's made some voters uncomfortable.
Polling locations are one of Abbott’s 11 exemptions to his statewide mask mandate that went into effect July 3. Abbott said at the time that the exemption is meant to prevent people from being turned away at the polls just because they don’t have a mask, though he has also recommended that people wear them. Full Story
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![Harris County residents waiting in line at the Bayland Community Center during the first day of early voting in Houston on Oct. 13, 2020.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
For many Texas kids, trick-or-treating is canceled because of the pandemic. These parents have other plans.
At least two counties – Hidalgo and El Paso – have banned door-to-door trick-or-treating. Others are discouraging participation while promoting safer alternatives such as carving pumpkins or having a candy hunt at home. Full Story
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![Families across Texas are preparing for Halloween festivities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jenn Deering Davis’s family and friends have formed “pods” with other neighboring families to mitigate social isolation as a result of the pandemic. Oct. 19, 2020.]()
Credit: Amna Ijaz/The Texas Tribune
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