![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Screen-Shot-2020-09-02-at-1.38.43-PM.png)
All of the Observer’s Coronavirus Coverage
Everything we’ve written about the coronavirus pandemic in Texas.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/pink-logo-full-360x360.png)
All of the Texas Observer’s Coronavirus Coverage
Here’s everything we’ve written about the coronavirus pandemic. Find our full data tracker here.
*
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Screen-Shot-2021-02-11-at-1.47.05-PM-e1613073022851.png)
Editorial: Texas Wasn’t Prepared for the Statewide Vaccine Rush
My elderly parents’ experience getting the COVID-19 vaccine highlights problems with Texas’ overall pandemic response.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Screen-Shot-2021-02-11-at-1.51.57-PM-e1613073302450.png)
Graveyard Shift
As COVID-19 devastates workers unable to stay home, families are left struggling for justice.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-09-30-at-4.25.02-PM.png)
Deaths in ICE Custody Skyrocketed During the COVID-19 Pandemic
A new report shows Texas lead the nation with seven deaths among immigration detainees from 2018-2020.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Screen-Shot-2021-02-11-at-2.34.39-PM-e1613076052633.png)
Lege in the Time of Coronavirus
An uncontrolled pandemic. An economic crisis. A bruising loss for Democrats. The Texas Legislature is back in session.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Screen-Shot-2021-02-11-at-2.52.03-PM-e1613076971894.png)
‘Being A Prisoner During COVID Is A Death Sentence’
Death row exoneree Anthony Graves reflects a decade after his release.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-12-11-at-1.06.38-PM.png)
Federal Regulators Have Fast-Tracked Review of Disinfectants That Claim to Kill COVID-19
How one Texas company seized a pandemic-sized opportunity.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-11-10-at-10.11.50-AM.png)
How We Got Here
Texas’ health system has been underfunded, understaffed, and unprepared for years. Here, COVID-19 found the perfect place to spread.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/covid-SW200430Essentials_SelenaXie_0070-1-1.jpg)
Eye on Texas: Essential Women
A portrait series by Sarah Wilson explores how women deemed essential workers stay safe during the pandemic.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/filename.jpg)
I Left My Friends in Prison in a Pandemic. Here’s What It’s Like For Them.
COVID-19 has spiraled out of control in the Texas prison system.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-09-30-at-4.25.42-PM.png)
State Officials Tried to Cut Women’s Health Care During a Pandemic.
It’s a clear reflection of priorities.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-09-30-at-4.25.21-PM.png)
As Schools Reopen, Some Families Face Potentially Life-Threatening Options
Texas has the widest digital divide in the nation.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-09-30-at-4.25.02-PM.png)
5,000 People Contract COVID-19 While In ICE Custody
ICE officials have released some medically vulnerable detainees, but one woman is struggling to get her sick husband out of ICE detention.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-09-30-at-4.24.42-PM.png)
Death in Dalhart
After a farmworker in the rural Texas Panhandle died of complications from COVID-19, his family and federal investigators want answers.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-09-30-at-4.24.21-PM.png)
Mexico Turns To Television And Radio For Remote Learning
The countrywide plan is meant to reach students with limited internet connectivity.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-09-02-at-1.41.13-PM.png)
Portraits of the Pandemic
Stories of how ordinary Texans are dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-09-02-at-1.40.56-PM.png)
Five Months Later, the State’s Unemployment System is Still Broken for Many Texans
Unemployed Texans are still struggling to get—and keep—their benefits.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-08-24-at-2.05.03-PM.png)
Texas Already Lacked Affordable Child Care. Then COVID-19 Hit.
The coronavirus has temporarily or permanently closed almost half of all child care providers in the state.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-08-12-at-1.53.24-PM.png)
The Coronavirus Pipeline
U.S. deportations of migrants have exported COVID-19 to Guatemala and prompted fear, chaos, and a collapse of already fragile health services.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-08-11-at-2.46.46-PM.png)
One of Texas’ Biggest Nursing Home Operators Beset By COVID-19 Cases and Deaths
New data released by the state health agency provides a glimpse into Texas nursing homes.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-08-11-at-2.46.29-PM.png)
Open and Shut
The COVID-19 pandemic threatens the future of the barbecue joints, taco trucks, bánh mì shops, and country cafes that make up Texas cuisine.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-07-23-at-4.30.28-PM.png)
Telehealth Could be Great, if Texans Had Access to It
Remote health care has the potential to connect patients to doctors safely during shelter-in-place. So why do so many Texans remain disconnected?
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-07-23-at-4.30.11-PM.png)
Texas Nursing Home Residents Were Already at Risk. Then COVID-19 Hit.
“We’ve known that infection control has been a problem.”
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-07-09-at-4.45.33-PM.png)
COVID-19 is Surging in Rural Texas, Threatening to Overwhelm Local Hospitals
ICU beds are limited and medical providers are falling sick.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-07-07-at-4.23.41-PM.png)
Between Borders
From a doctor stranded in Ciudad Juárez to a shelter closed after an outbreak, COVID-19 is hitting hard along the Texas-Mexico border.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-07-07-at-4.23.04-PM.png)
As Cases Surge, Some People Remain Behind Bars After Making Bail
Electronic monitoring companies refuse to touch coronavirus-positive inmates.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-06-18-at-5.07.46-PM.png)
Texas Relaxed Environmental Enforcement During the Pandemic, State Data Show
TCEQ pursued 20 percent fewer violations of environmental laws than in 2019.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-06-18-at-5.07.21-PM.png)
Promising Results for COVID-19 Patients Treated with Plasma Therapy in Texas
About 20,000 people received plasma treatments nationwide in April, May, and early June.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-06-18-at-5.07.33-PM.png)
The Pandemic Is Just the Latest Threat Refugees in Abilene Face
As workers return to the new normal, they worry about keeping their jobs.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-06-15-at-2.18.04-PM.png)
COVID-19 Has Delayed Programs That Texas Prisoners Need to Get Out
At least 10,500 people have been approved for release but remain in prison.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-06-08-at-4.51.03-PM.png)
In Rural Texas, COVID-19 Contact Tracing is Largely Up to Local Officials, If It Happens at All
“We’re kind of stuck.”
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-06-08-at-4.51.15-PM.png)
‘Heroes’ No More: Grocers Are Already Clawing Back COVID-19 Worker Benefits
Kroger revoked its “Hero Pay” in May.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-06-02-at-2.50.50-PM.png)
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins on Battling COVID-19, and the Governor, as Texas Reopens
Jenkins is “hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.”
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-05-28-at-1.15.20-PM.png)
Feeding Refugees on the Texas Border Has Been Tough. Now There’s COVID-19.
The pandemic has made food delivery considerably more complicated.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-05-28-at-1.15.08-PM.png)
Home Wasn’t Safe. Then COVID-19 Made It Seem Like the Only Option.
Some domestic violence shelters are seeing a “disturbing” decrease in clients and callers.”
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-05-18-at-9.35.46-AM.png)
Is Texas Inflating Its COVID-19 Testing Numbers by Including Antibody Tests?
Experts say this muddies the data.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-05-18-at-9.35.56-AM.png)
In the COVID-19 Economy, Texas’ Commercial Fishermen Are Barely Treading Water
The tradition of small-scale fishing is at stake.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-05-15-at-11.13.05-AM.png)
How COVID-19 Upended Texas Prisons
Governor Greg Abbott has mostly ignored the pandemic inside the Texas prison system.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-05-08-at-10.24.44-AM.png)
COVID-19 Has Infected Workers at a Tyson Beef Plant in Amarillo, Employees Say
One plant employee has died, workers say.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-05-07-at-4.15.42-PM.png)
DSHS is Excluding Some Prisoners From COVID-19 County Totals
The numbers mask the prevalence of the virus in some rural areas.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-05-07-at-4.15.33-PM.png)
Air Pollution Was Already Killing Us. Then Came the Coronavirus.
By refusing to strengthen particulate matter standards, the EPA is putting more people at risk.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-05-05-at-5.58.16-PM.png)
Will Grocery Workers Still Be ‘Heroes’ When COVID-19 Subsides?
In Texas, grocery employees labor for low wages and few benefits.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-05-04-at-2.29.48-PM.png)
In Rural Counties, COVID-19 Cases are Likely Undercounted
Governor Greg Abbott wants to reopen them anyway.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-04-30-at-3.21.19-PM.png)
Demand for Plasma Therapy Far Outpaces Donations
Texas blood banks and the Red Cross are actively recruiting donors but remain thwarted by a lack of antibody tests.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-04-29-at-2.13.57-PM.png)
Field Hospital Begins Construction in Matamoros Migrant Camp
Medical aid volunteers prepare for the worst while hoping for the best.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-04-23-at-4.18.53-PM.png)
COVID-19 Cases are Growing Rapidly in Areas With Limited Medical Resources
It’s likely that cases may be going untested.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-04-22-at-5.22.10-PM.png)
Mapping the Number of COVID-19 Cases in Texas per Doctor
Many counties with limited medical resources now have COVID-19 cases.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-04-23-at-4.18.41-PM.png)
State Employees Criticize Texas’ Uneven Approach to Worker Safety Amid COVID-19
A slow, patchwork response has jeopardized worker safety.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-04-22-at-9.16.58-AM.png)
COVID-19 Cases Now Tied to Meat Plants in Rural Texas Counties Wracked with Coronavirus
DSHS has offered few details of its investigation.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-04-20-at-12.12.02-PM.png)
Abbott Puts Billionaire Donors, Industry Lobbyists in Charge of Restarting Texas’ Economy
Critics say it’s reckless pay-to-play politics.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-04-16-at-4.55.11-PM.png)
Texas Had a State Office That Could Have Investigated Racial Disparities in COVID-19 Cases
Lawmakers defunded it three years ago.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-04-16-at-4.55.00-PM.png)
ICE Isn’t Reporting All Of The People in Its Facilities Who Have Tested Positive
ICE says it doesn’t have to report contractors.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-04-15-at-5.16.20-PM.png)
Houston Is Ground Zero for a Potentially Lifesaving COVID-19 Treatment
A lack of tests remains a roadblock.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/1Screen-Shot-2020-04-15-at-1.44.11-PM.png)
From Jail to the Streets: One Texan’s Story During COVID-19
The homeless are 11 times more likely to be incarcerated than the rest of the population.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-04-15-at-1.44.22-PM.png)
Greg Abbott’s Power Grab on Bail Reform
State officials are fighting on several fronts to restrict who judges can let out.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-04-15-at-1.44.33-PM.png)
COVID-19 Has Made a Mess of Texas’ Open Government Rules
Government agencies now have carte blanche to operate in secrets.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-04-07-at-4.25.42-PM.png)
Gene Wu on the Coronavirus
How comments from Trump, Cruz, and Cornyn inflame deep-seated prejudices against Asian Americans.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-04-14-at-10.12.10-AM.png)
What One Texan Had to do to Get an Abortion During the Pandemic
Texas is using the COVID-19 pandemic as the latest strategy in their anti-abortion playbook.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-04-10-at-2.32.36-PM.png)
‘I’m in Limbo Here’
Out-of-work Texans are coming face to face with an overwhelmed and antiquated state unemployment system.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-04-07-at-4.27.45-PM.png)
Lessons on the Long Game from Goose Island’s Whooping Cranes
Facing the century’s first global pandemic, cranes might be the sort of collective totem we need.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-04-10-at-2.35.37-PM.png)
Shuttered by the Coronavirus, Texas Art Museums Are Moving Online
The digital world is letting museums flourish.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/tiny-abbott-web-apr2020-ap.png)
A ‘Stay-at-Home’ Order by Any Other Name
As public health experts warned, the time to shut down is before there are confirmed cases.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/zuniga-tiny.png)
‘I Think I’m Gonna Die’
In the Valley, about one in three people have diabetes. They’re at higher risk for COVID-19, but those who rely on dialysis can’t stay home.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-03-30-at-4.03.32-PM.png)
Peter Hotez: Vaccine Development is ‘Critical to the Security of Our Nation’
“It’s every bit as critical as having a military.”
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/detention-tiny.png)
Migrants Call to Close Detention Centers as COVID-19 Spreads
“What happens next will be determined by actions we take now.”
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/bars2.png)
Families of Sick Prisoners Plead for Compassionate Release
COVID-19 poses a particular threat to prisoners whose health is already failing.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/tiny-harris_county_jail-web-mar2020-ap.png)
In a Pandemic, Poor Defendants Could Pay With Their Lives
COVID-19 lays bare the fundamental inequalities that a cash bond system creates.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/10ways_coronapage.png)
How to Help Your Fellow Texans Endure the Pandemic
Give to your local food bank, donate blood, or support an emergency housing fund.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-03-25-at-9.21.29-AM.png)
Texas Republicans’ Pandemic Performance Is True to Form
Patrick performs for Fox News; Abbott dithers; and Cornyn defiantly refuses to log off.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-03-26-at-1.51.44-PM.png)
COVID-19 Reveals the Urgent Need to House the Homeless
For myriad reasons, the homeless are likely to suffer severe cases of COVID-19.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/tiny-migrant_camps_virus-web-mar2020-ap.png)
COVID-19 is Lurking Along the Texas-Mexico Border
Mexican border cities Matamoros and Juárez both have at least one confirmed case of the virus.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-03-26-at-12.09.14-PM.png)
COVID-19 Could Be a ‘Double Whammy’ for Those in Pollution Hotspots
The Houston area is a particular hotspot.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-03-26-at-12.09.23-PM.png)
Loneliness in the Age of Coronavirus
As a single parent, I was already struggling with loneliness. Then the coronavirus hit.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/bettertexas_coronapage.png)
The COVID-19 Crisis Points the Way Toward a Better Texas
Once the virus passes, there’s no reason to let the powerful return peacefully to business as usual.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/abortionaccess_coronaviruspage.png)
Abortion Access in the Age of COVID-19
Abortion clinics in Texas rely on traveling doctors. Coronavirus is keeping some of them home.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/votehere_coronaviruspage.png)
Texas Democratic and Republican Parties Spar Over How to Hold Elections During a Pandemic
Primary runoffs are two months from now.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/abbott_coronapage.png)
The Coronavirus Pandemic Exposed Abbott’s Hypocrisy On Local Control
State intervention could be too little, too late.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/immigration_coronapage.png)
How Is COVID-19 Impacting the Immigration System?
Migrants on the U.S. border say they are more afraid of staying in Mexico than COVID-19.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/jails_coronapage.png)
Some Texas Officials Want to Divert People from Jail Amid Coronavirus Scare
Reformers have been pushing this step for years.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/fracking_coronapage.png)
Coronavirus is Exposing the Faulty Foundations of the Texas Fracking Industry
The oil and gas sector was already having problems.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/sxsw_coronapage.png)
Seven Austin Workers on How They’re Scrambling After the SXSW Cancellation
Gig workers reported more than $2 million in lost wages after the festival was called off.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/paidsick_coronapage.png)
With Paid Leave Policies, Cities Tried to Prepare for COVID-19
Too many Texas workers can’t stay home when they’re sick. Two years ago, a movement tried to change that.
![](https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/schools_coronapage.png)
Tough Decisions Ahead for School Leaders in Rural Texas
Officials must weigh the health of their students against the health of their communities.