Texas’ COVID-19 Recovery

A deep dive into the COVID-19 recovery in Houston, Texas from an economic and social vantage point.

In March 2020, the world came to a halt as COVID-19 began its uncontrollable spread. Many aspects of day-to-day life in the country had been impacted. Restaurants were levied restrictions to how they conduct business, friends and family were encouraged not to see one another, and most non-essential businesses were shut down completely.

One year later, there appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel. Restaurants and other places of leisure are open, friends and family are reuniting and vaccinations are being administered.

A family takes a stroll together through the Pearland Town Center on a Sunday afternoon. Most places of business in the shopping mall have zero COVID-19 restrictions. (Left) A large group gathers at a Father’s Day event at the Pearland Town Center Pavilion. Few masks and little social distancing being observed as Texans take advantage of relaxed mandates. (Right)

A young woman plays her turn in a round of Cornhole with a close friend while at the Pearland Town Center Pavilion on a Sunday afternoon. (Left) A young couple walks up to the entrance of the Houston Zoo on a hot Thursday afternoon. With Houston fully reopened, everyone is starting to return to their favorite attractions in the city. (Center) A family enjoys snow cones as they sit down in the shade to escape the summertime heat of Texas on a Thursday in June while visiting the Houston Zoo. (Right)

A man takes a boat out onto McGovern Lake on a sultry Thursday afternoon in Houston, Texas. Behind him stands the Pioneer Memorial Obelisk and a family paying visit to the monument. (Left) A young man places his order at the Torchy’s Tacos in Rice Village on a Monday afternoon. With Texas being reopened, restaurants are able to operate at 100% capacity. (Center) A fleet of people sit down inside of the Torchy’s Tacos in Rice Village and enjoy their meals on a Monday afternoon. The restaurant’s motto gives customers a subtle reminder of how it feels to return to a sense of normalcy. (Right)

Vaccinations in the United States started being administered to the public in December 2020. Margaret Peake was one of the first Houston residents to get her first vaccine dose and did not take the moment for granted.

“I understood how big of a deal it was at the time. I felt as if a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. I was able to go back to church, go visit my grandkids, and that is a big deal for someone like me.” Margaret explained.

While vaccines were not being administered to all adults, Governor Greg Abbott made Texas the first state to open up to 100% and rescind mask mandates on March 10th, 2021. Vaccinations had yet to be made available to all Texan adults until March 29th, 2021.

Since Governor Abbott’s announcement, Texas has seen a consistent decline in COVID-19 statistics that include cases, positivity rate, hospitalizations and deaths.

While restaurants were able to serve their customers via to-go or delivery, things just weren’t quite the same leading up to the lifting of all COVID restrictions.

Desiree, a local restaurant owner, described what it was like operating under the state and country restrictions in 2020 and the adjustments made to stay afloat.

“We began operating only curbside for a good amount of time last year. Once we were allowed to open up to 25%, we took full advantage of the opportunity we were given. We may have even started seating a little bit more than 25%.” Desiree said with a laugh.

Now, friends and family fill out restaurants as people are able to enjoy the resemblance of a post-COVID life.

Other aspects of life that are seeing a resurgence are forms of entertainment. Texas has opened up its doors to their sports venues, as most professional sports teams in the state now allow 100% occupancy with zero enforcement of mask requirements.

Joshua Silva was one of the thousands in attendance for the Astros game at Minute Maid Park on Mother’s Day 2021. While he was happy to be out and about, he did feel a little uncomfortable being in a crowd as large as the one at Minute Maid Park that Sunday.

“It was a little bit strange to me. It had just been so long since I was around a huge group of people like that so naturally, I was feeling a bit anxious. Not a lot of people were wearing masks and while I’m fully vaccinated, I couldn’t help but feel a tad bit unsafe.” Joshua said.

One glaring statistic that could drive Texas back into the grasp of COVID-19 is the low number of vaccinations statewide.

Texas currently ranks 2nd out of US states in vaccinations administered, however, they only rank 38th in the percentage of its population fully inoculated. Given that vaccines have been more widely available for a longer period of time, the numbers are concerning.

With low vaccination rates coupled with no mask or occupancy restrictions in the state, this could lead to Texas’ full recovery from COVID-19 being short lived and could prolong the impact the virus has had on the region.

One positive takeaway is that in Texas’ four major cities — Houston, San Antonio, Austin and Dallas — where the population is denser, the vaccination rates are much higher than what is represented on a statewide level.

While the threat of COVID-19 will never be permanently gone, the ability to enjoy some aspects of a normal life is a sign that the future isn’t as bleak as the past.

If the last year and some change has taught the world anything, it is that nothing should be taken for granted and Texans should certainly not take this moment in the recovery for granted.