Texas’ stay at home order in response to COVID-19 expires April 30 and a phased “reopen” begins. What happens now? Although the state’s edict overrules local policy on this issue, many community leaders across the state are likely to ask residents and businesses to observe some practices voluntarily. What leaders ask with regard to COVID-19 has varied across communities so far, and that’s unlikely to change. Any community leader’s ask may or may not be based on what we know about how to reopen more safely, like whether cases are steadily declining, whether we have enough testing and contact tracing, and whether hospitals can handle a spike in seriously ill patients.
Our lives are connected across county lines, though, including through our jobs. Right now no Texas county can do the level of testing and contact tracing it needs. Until every county can, infection in one community is certain to spread to another.
Our new infographic shows the number and percent of each county’s jobs that are filled by workers who live outside that county. A companion interactive map lets you explore jobs, worker counties, testing coverage, and cases identified to date.