© 2023 KMUW
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

The Coronavirus Is Messing With Texas

A man walks with a rifle with a Texas flag attached to it during a Police Appreciation rally at the City Hall in Houston, Texas.
A man walks with a rifle with a Texas flag attached to it during a Police Appreciation rally at the City Hall in Houston, Texas.

More than 2,000 deaths. Record hospitalization rates. A postponed election. The pandemic is in full swing in the Lone Star State.

Texas was one of the first states to begin reopening businesses in the face of the novel coronavirus. And since then, it’s frequently announced record numbers of new cases. The highest death counts have been reported in its major metropolitan centers like Dallas and Houston.

From The Texas Tribune’s Emma Platoff:

“The state’s focus is not on preventing all deaths at all costs, but on reopening gradually enough that hospitals do not become overwhelmed. The question is not how much death can we bear, but how many deaths can our system manage?”

The state postponed its primary runoff elections in May in order to protect citizens from COVID-19. Now, they’re set to take place in July and voters will not be required to wear masks to their polling places.

How can Texas keep its residents safe? And what might the next month of its coronavirus response look like?

Copyright 2020 WAMU 88.5

Kathryn Fink