Articles tagged: coronavirus
For Families That Lost Loved Ones or Jobs to the Pandemic, Thanksgiving Carries an Extra Weight This Year
This year’s pandemic has brought untold suffering to families across Texas. Making things worse: At a time when they might take solace in the company of friends or family, public health authorities are urging them to stay apart.
This story was originally published by the Texas Tribune. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans—and engages wit...Read More
Eye on Texas: The Essential Women of Austin
A portrait series by Sarah Wilson explores how women deemed essential workers stay safe during the pandemic.
Through my portrait series “Essentials” I’ve been photographing the women working in essential positions in Austin during the COVID-19 pandemic. The shelt...Read More
How We Got Here
Texas’ health system has been underfunded, understaffed, and unprepared for years. Here, COVID-19 found the perfect place to spread.
Texas’ health system has been underfunded, understaffed, and unprepared for years. Here, COVID-19 found the perfect place to spread. By Sophie Novack November...Read More
A West Texas Nursing Home Sent Its COVID-Positive Residents Elsewhere. Now Two of Them Are Dead.
Texas allows nursing homes to voluntarily accept COVID-positive patients from hospitals and other nursing homes. But there are no additional safeguards for the people sent there, and some of the facilities have a history of breaking rules.
John Wayne McDermett used to manage nursing homes. Now he lives in one. After serving 12 years as a rural county judge and working a stint as a disc jockey at a...Read More
I Left My Friends in Prison in a Pandemic. Here’s What It’s Like For Them.
I receive phone calls from distraught friends inside complaining of unbearable heat, uncontrollable outbreaks, and paltry diets.
This story first appeared in the Guardian on October 9. When I first met my friend Melissa in prison, she impressed me with her ability to endure crisis with a ...Read More
5,000 People Contract COVID-19 While In ICE Custody, Including This Father Of 5
ICE officials have released some medically vulnerable detainees, but one woman is struggling to get her sick husband out of ICE detention.
This story originally appeared on Texas Public Radio. Jessica and her five children haven’t seen Hilder Lainez-Alvarez—their husband and father—in several...Read More
Portraits of the Pandemic
There are people who lost their jobs, who miss their family, who worry about their kids. These are the stories of ordinary Texans dealing with extraordinary circumstances.
By Texas Observer Staff Illustrations by Lindsay Mound August 31, 2020—Nearly six months into the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 600,000 Texans have been infect...Read More
Five Months Later, the State’s Unemployment System is Still Broken for Many Texans
The state’s unemployment insurance system was woefully unprepared when the COVID-fueled economic crisis hit in March. Months later, unemployed Texans are still struggling to get—and keep—their benefits.
In March, after losing her job with Rolfson Oil, Laura Orozco filed for unemployment. Her claim was denied. The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), which administ...Read More
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, leaving few options for low-income working families.
Jessica Nolen and her 5-year-old daughter had a morning routine. Fights with their alarm clocks first, some morning television, then quick berry smoothies, and ...Read More