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From Immigration To Business To Mental Health: How Coronavirus Is Affecting Texas

Health care workers at Dallas drive-thru clinic
Smiley N. Pool
/
The Dallas Morning News via Associated Press
Dr. Martin McElya, second from right, and physician assistant Paige Lehrer work with patients as cars line up for drive-through coronavirus testing at Neighborhood Medical Center on March 16 in Dallas.

From immigration to business to mental health, the coronavirus is affecting North Texas.

More than 300 people are now confirmed to have COVID-19 in Dallas County. Officials reported 56 new cases Thursday. The county is also reporting its seventh death -- a Dallas woman in her 90s. Denton County is reporting a total of 83 cases, including the county's first death -- a Lewisville man in his 40s. Meanwhile, Tarrant County is reporting 100 total cases and Collin County says it has 66. Across Texas, state health officials report about 1,400 cases.

Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursdayannounced a new executive order that requires airport travelers flying into Texas from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and New Orleans to self-quarantine for 14 days.

Click on the audio above to listen to coverage of COVID-19 in Texas from the KERA News team.

  • Coronavirus and immigration: More than 38,000 people are detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Medical experts say they’re being held in facilities that are tinderboxes for a coronavirus outbreak. Now, many are calling for them to be released.

  • Coronavirus and business: Last October, when tornadoes ripped through Dallas, a toy store lost its roof, and half its inventory. Rebuilding would take it down to the studs, so owners scrambled to find a temporary location and re-launched before the holidays. The threat of coronavirus means the storeis now shuttered again -- for the second time in six months.