Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins reported a three-day total of 1,009 new COVID-19 cases and 15 deaths on Tuesday.
The omicron variant has arrived in Texas, The Dallas Morning News reports. Monday night, a 40-year old woman with no recent travel history has tested positive for the variant in Harris County. The woman is fully vaccinated and is “The fact that the patient did not have a travel history means she picked it up in the community. So it’s here, it has been here probably for a week or two,” said Catherine Troisi, associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
Vaccine mandate for federal contractors blocked nationwide by judge, CNN reports. US District Judge Stan Baker’s order means Biden’s vaccine policies for people not employed by the federal government are frozen across the country. Biden’s frozen vaccine policies include the mandates for contractors, certain health care workers, and employees of larger companies.
Rapid breath test for COVID-19 developed in Dallas, NBC DFW reports. Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas, in partnership with SOTECH Health, have developed a portable and reusable sensor that could detect a COVID-19 infection by a 30 seconds breath test. The device detects chemical markers of the body’s response to the virus. It is not a diagnostic test, but can be used as a screening tool, like a PCR test, following diagnostic testing.
Texas educators say they’re concerned about omicron variant, KERA reports. The Texas State Teachers Association says there is increasing concern among educators about school safety protocols towards the omicron variant. The group has repeatedly criticized Gov. Greg Abbott for banning mask mandates in schools.
