‘And then, boom’: Outbreak shows shaky ground as Texas opens
April 30, 2020 5:57PM AKDT
PARIS, Texas (AP) — Barely a week ago, rural Lamar County could make a pretty good argument for Texas’ reopening on Friday. Only a handful of the 50,000 residents in the county on the border with Oklahoma had tested positive for the coronavirus. None had died. Then an outbreak at a nursing home turned up over the weekend. Now at least 65 people are infected and one person is dead as the county becomes a cautionary tale of the fragility of the governor’s plan to get Texas back in business. Starting Friday, retailers, restaurants and movie theaters have permission to let customers back in the door.