Gov. Greg Abbott bans elective surgeries in four South Texas counties to preserve hospital capacity
Elective procedures are now banned in eight counties around the state — Bexar, Dallas, Harris, Travis, Cameron, Hidalgo, Nueces and Webb. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott announced a strike force in charge of laying steps to re-open the Texas economy at a press conference in the capitol on April 17, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Officials in Texas' big cities say their public testing sites are being strained. Austin has begun to limit who can be tested.
Austin won't give tests to people who are asymptomatic. Dallas and Houston officials said their facilities reached capacity in the middle of the day. Full Story
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![A healthcare worker tests a patient for COVID-19 at the Community Care testing site at the Hancock Center in Austin. June 25, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
The Texas GOP convention will gather thousands of people indoors without a mask requirement. One of its sponsors is the Texas Medical Association.
The Texas Medical Association, the state's largest medical group, said it is hopeful convention attendees will wear masks and practice social distancing. Full Story
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![Delegate Elizabeth Victory listens to discussions during the final afternoon of the Republican Party of Texas convention in San Antonio on June 16, 2018.]()
Credit: Robin Jerstad for The Texas Tribune -
Texas city and county leaders ask Gov. Greg Abbott for authority to implement local stay-at-home orders
At the beginning of the pandemic, local officials across the state implemented stay-at-home orders for their regions. But now, with cases across Texas' metros surging, those leaders say Abbott has stripped them of the authority to reinstate the same measures. Full Story
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![Kroger pharmacists explain and collect self-swab COVID-19 tests at a testing site in the Fifth Ward in Houston on June 27, 2020.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Supreme Court affirms abortion protections, strikes down Louisiana abortion law
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana law Monday that would have curtailed access to abortions in the state. It was nearly identical to a measure the court overturned in Texas in 2016. Full Story
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![The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on May 28, 2020.]()
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Pence visits Dallas as Texas grapples with coronavirus spike
The vice president spoke at Baptist church led by an ardent supporter of President Donald Trump and then met with Gov. Greg Abbott about the dire coronavirus situation in Texas. Full Story
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![Vice President Mike Pence spoke at First Baptist in Dallas on Sunday.]()
Credit: Youtube -
Want a coronavirus test in Texas? You may have to wait for hours in a car.
Months into the pandemic, demand for coronavirus tests is soaring. Texans report problems with almost every facet of the testing process, starting with the glitching websites and unanswered phone lines used to schedule appointments, and extending to long lags before test results come back. Full Story
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![A line of about 100 cars formed at Barbara Jordan Elementary School in Austin while waiting at a COVID-19 testing site. June 26, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas Republicans move forward with plans for an indoor convention in Houston, the state's biggest coronavirus hot spot
Gov. Greg Abbott is allowing limits on outdoor crowds — but not indoor gatherings. His party's convention — with an expected attendance of 6,000 — so far will not require attendees to wear face masks. Full Story
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![Delegates listen to speeches from party chairman candidates and offer procedural votes at the Republican Party of Texas convention in San Antonio on June 15, 2018.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Judge orders ICE to free migrant children from family detention during coronavirus pandemic, report says
The Associated Press reported that a judge wrote in her order that migrant detention centers “are ‘on fire’ and there is no more time for half measures.” Full Story
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![The South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley is one of two family immigrant detention centers in Texas.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott expresses regret over reopening Texas bars during coronavirus
"If I could go back and redo anything, it probably would have been to slow down the opening of bars," Abbott said in a TV interview Friday evening. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott announces his plan to reopen the economy during the coronavirus pandemic.]()
Credit: Ricardo B. Brazziell/Pool/Austin American-Statesman -
Pence following through with visit to Dallas church as pandemic rages
The vice president was already scheduled to speak Sunday at First Baptist Dallas, though his trip is taking on a more somber tone as the state scrambles to respond to what Gov. Greg Abbott has described as a "massive outbreak" of coronavirus cases. Full Story
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![Vice President Mike Pence spoke to a crowd of supporters during a campaign event for U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions' re-election bid, at the Park Cities Hilton in Dallas Oct. 8, 2018.]()
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Federal government postpones plans to close five coronavirus testing sites in Texas
A bipartisan group of elected officials in Texas had urged the federal government not to close the sites. Full Story
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![Army National guard members at a mobile COVID-19 testing site at Uhland Elementary School in Uhland on June 18, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
How COVID-19 cases have grown in Texas' 11 most populous counties
New cases in Texas are approaching 6,000 per day, and nearly two-thirds of them have been recorded in 11 counties over the past two weeks. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks about the categories of medical surge facilities during a press conference at the Texas Department of Public Safety on Tuesday, June 16, 2020.]()
Credit: Ricardo B. Brazziell/Pool via Austin American-Statesman -
Gov. Greg Abbott orders Texas bars to close again and restaurants to reduce to 50% occupancy as coronavirus spreads
The moves, announced Friday morning, represent Abbott's most dramatic action yet in response to a surge in cases after he allowed businesses to reopen in the state. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott at a press conference at the state Capitol in Austin on Monday, June 22,2020.]()
Credit: Ricardo B. Brazziell/Pool via Austin American-Statesman -
Some Texas cities revive plans to add hospital bed capacity at convention centers if coronavirus cases climb
“The setting will be similar to a Medical-Surgical Unit with a capability of treating critical care patients," reads a description for a 100-bed site in Austin, according to an email obtained by The Texas Tribune. Full Story
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![A look inside an intensive care unit during a media tour of a medical shelter at NRG Park in Houston on April 11, 2020. The facility was built in less than a week for a possible overflow of COVID-19 in the greater Houston area.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott keeps businesses open despite surging coronavirus cases and rising deaths in Texas
“We can protect Texans’ lives while also restoring their livelihoods,” Abbott said this week. As cases surge, the question has become: How many Texans’ lives? Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott gives an update on Texas hospital bed capacity and state's strategy for fighting COVID-19 during a press conference at Texas Department of Public Safety in Austin on Tuesday, June 16, 2020.]()
Credit: Ricardo B. Brazziell/Pool via Austin American-Statesman -
Gov. Greg Abbott pauses Texas’ reopening, bans elective surgeries in four counties
For a second time since the start of the pandemic, Abbott banned elective surgeries to preserve bed space for coronavirus patients. But this time the hold on the nonessential procedures is only in effect for Bexar, Dallas, Harris and Travis counties. Full Story
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![The Baylor Scott and White Medical Center Hillcrest hospital in Waco on March 25, 2020.]()
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Texans struggle to find work in the Rio Grande Valley, where unemployment has nearly tripled
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic, limits on cross-border commerce and a downturn in the energy sector have hit the Rio Grande Valley's economy especially hard. Full Story
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![People cross the Mc Allen-Hidalgo International Bridge in Hidalgo.]()
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He removed labels that said “medical use prohibited,” then tried to sell thousands of masks to officials who distribute to hospitals
Using TaskRabbit and Venmo, a Silicon Valley investor and his business partner had workers repackage nonmedical KN95 masks so he could sell them to Texas emergency workers. Full Story
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![Jaime Rivera, a TaskRabbit worker, said the warning "medical use prohibited" was omitted when masks were moved from their original packaging, shown at left in an image shared by Rivera, into new packaging, right. A mask broker tried to sell them to the Texas Division of Emergency Management.]()
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Texas’ coronavirus positivity rate exceeds “warning flag” level Abbott set as businesses reopened
In early May, Gov. Greg Abbott pointed to the positivity rate — a ratio of positive COVID-19 tests to all tests — and said anything over 10% was cause for alarm. As of Wednesday, Texas exceeded that mark for the first time since April. Full Story
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![A health care worker takes a patient's information at an Austin Regional Clinic COVID-19 testing site on June 17, 2020.]()
Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune