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A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Dallas. Written by Michael Mooney, Naheed Rajwani-Dharsi and Tasha Tsiaperas.

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Inside the Methodist Church divide in Texas

Decades of discord in the United Methodist Church have reached a tipping point.

News

Why downtown McKinney has so many tiny doors

Dozens of tiny doors are on display, with more in the works.

Texas economy draws outsiders, keeps natives

Texans are the most likely to stay in their home state compared to natives of other states.

What other cities can learn from car-dependent Dallas

North Texas' car-centricity affects low-income families the most.

Transit

COVID-19 cases increasing in Texas

Coronavirus cases reported in Texas increased nearly 24% the first week of August.

COVID

COVID-19 cases are ticking up in Texas — though the overall number of cases remains well below what it was at the height of the pandemic.Driving the news: EG.5, a descendant of Omicron, was named <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="a variant of concern" data-vars-click-url="https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/09082023eg.5_ire_final.pdf?sfvrsn=2aa2daee_1" data-vars-content-id="e3192571-6227-4e84-a397-5a8399b7d12f" data-vars-headline="COVID-19 cases increasing in Texas" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/09082023eg.5_ire_final.pdf?sfvrsn=2aa2daee_1" target="_blank">a variant of concern</a> by the World Health Organization last week.

Illustration of a pattern of covid particles and positive signs turning into each other.

CDC updates COVID quarantine guidelines

The shift marks a significant change in the country's approach to the pandemic.

Nearly two and a half years since COVID-19 altered our sense of space and safety, the CDC is loosening its guidelines on social distancing and quarantining.Why it matters: The shift marks a significant change in the country&#x27;s approach to the pandemic. A majority of Americans are now fully vaccinated against the virus or have been exposed to it, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Axios&#x27; Sareen Habeshian reports" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2022/08/11/cdc-covid-quarantining-social-distancing" data-vars-content-id="e7445c72-9e73-4a6d-a557-48380af7230b" data-vars-headline="CDC updates COVID quarantine guidelines" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/08/11/cdc-covid-quarantining-social-distancing" target="_self">Axios&#x27; Sareen Habeshian reports</a>.

Illustration of a dead tree with surgical masks on the branches blowing in the wind.   

CDC: Estimated COVID infections more than double official count

The total estimated infections since the start of the pandemic is 19.4 million.

Most Texans have probably had COVID-19, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="newly released CDC data" data-vars-click-url="https://link.axios.com/click/27565695.49905/aHR0cHM6Ly9jb3ZpZC5jZGMuZ292L2NvdmlkLWRhdGEtdHJhY2tlci8_dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1uZXdzbGV0dGVyJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPW5ld3NsZXR0ZXJfYXhpb3Nsb2NhbF9kZW52ZXImc3RyZWFtPXRvcA/611c03ead69ae557c5059a10B32f24361" data-vars-content-id="98359083-447a-40ac-84d1-e29e2247c861" data-vars-headline="CDC: Estimated COVID infections more than double official count" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://link.axios.com/click/27565695.49905/aHR0cHM6Ly9jb3ZpZC5jZGMuZ292L2NvdmlkLWRhdGEtdHJhY2tlci8_dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1uZXdzbGV0dGVyJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPW5ld3NsZXR0ZXJfYXhpb3Nsb2NhbF9kZW52ZXImc3RyZWFtPXRvcA/611c03ead69ae557c5059a10B32f24361" target="_blank">newly released CDC data</a> suggests.Driving the news: Immunity from prior infections and vaccinations has driven down hospitalizations in North Texas and statewide. <ul><li>North Texas remains at a low level of <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="community risk" data-vars-click-url="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=newsletter_axioslocal_denver&amp;stream=top#county-view?list_select_state=Texas&amp;data-type=CommunityLevels&amp;list_select_county=48113" data-vars-content-id="98359083-447a-40ac-84d1-e29e2247c861" data-vars-headline="CDC: Estimated COVID infections more than double official count" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=newsletter_axioslocal_denver&amp;stream=top#county-view?list_select_state=Texas&amp;data-type=CommunityLevels&amp;list_select_county=48113" target="_blank">community risk</a> for COVID. </li></ul>

How Dallas ranks on COVID deaths

At least 87,244 Texans have died from COVID.

COVID is killing more people per 100,000 in red states than in blue states.Why it matters: &quot;The COVID-19 pandemic removed any doubt that state policies can affect health outcomes,&quot; Virginia Commonwealth University professor Steven Woolf<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text=" recently argued" data-vars-click-url="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2790238?widget=personalizedcontent&amp;previousarticle=2771202" data-vars-content-id="bfad6f3c-0543-42e7-84f9-d2286edcedc7" data-vars-headline="How Dallas ranks on COVID deaths" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2790238?widget=personalizedcontent&amp;previousarticle=2771202" target="_blank"> recently argued</a> in JAMA.

Paxton sues to stop federal mask mandates on planes

Texas has also sued the federal government over vaccine mandates for federal contractors and large businesses.

Politics

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in an attempt to end the federal mask mandate on planes.<ul><li>The latest suit comes days after he sued the company that owns Facebook, alleging the technology conglomerate violated the state’s privacy protections by utilizing facial recognition technology without users’ consent.</li></ul>

Texas professor dismissed after recommending students mask

While lecturing about the 1918 influenza epidemic, Phillips says, he instructed students to “think about the consequences of what you’re doing, and the risks you might pose to your community.”

A professor at Collin College says his contract won’t be renewed because he spoke publicly about the school’s COVID-19 protocols.<ul><li>Michael Phillips, who teaches history and wrote the book “White Metropolis: Race, Ethnicity, and Religion in Dallas, 1841-2001,” also received warnings from college administrators after writing an <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="op-ed calling for the removal of Confederate monuments" data-vars-click-url="https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2017/08/04/dallas-confederate-memorials-scream-white-supremacy/" data-vars-content-id="a3960966-d38f-4f05-b175-df300c53efb4" data-vars-headline="Texas professor dismissed after recommending students mask" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2017/08/04/dallas-confederate-memorials-scream-white-supremacy/" target="_blank">op-ed calling for the removal of Confederate monuments</a>.</li></ul>Why it matters: North Texas has become a flashpoint in the national battle over free speech in public education, with an increase in calls to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="ban books" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/dallas/2022/01/31/texas-parents-students-fight-school-book-bans" data-vars-content-id="a3960966-d38f-4f05-b175-df300c53efb4" data-vars-headline="Texas professor dismissed after recommending students mask" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/dallas/2022/01/31/texas-parents-students-fight-school-book-bans" target="_self">ban books</a> and strife over <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="restrictions on how teachers can discuss racism" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/texas-governor-critical-race-theory-955f8ecf-a309-4536-8a5d-f84d81b70c64.html" data-vars-content-id="a3960966-d38f-4f05-b175-df300c53efb4" data-vars-headline="Texas professor dismissed after recommending students mask" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/texas-governor-critical-race-theory-955f8ecf-a309-4536-8a5d-f84d81b70c64.html" target="_self">restrictions on how teachers can discuss racism</a>.

COVID is disrupting some North Texas school schedules

Several North Texas school districts have canceled classes for the rest of the week,

Several North Texas school districts have canceled classes for the rest of the week, while others are now requiring students and staff to wear masks in response to a surge of new coronavirus cases. Why it matters: Pediatric hospitals have reported an increase in positive COVID test results in the month since the first omicron case was reported in North Texas.

North Texas' at-home COVID test reporting is inconsistent

Even when a locality has a system for reporting at-home results in place, it's often not immediately clear whether it'll be run by the state health department.

As Omicron continues to surge, the state of Texas has no cohesive strategy to monitor the results of at-home rapid COVID tests. Why it matters: Without knowing the results of at-home tests, health officials and the public have less information about the true number of cases.

An at-home COVID swab casting a shadow in the shape of a question mark.

North Texas Covid cases have never been higher

While Omicron seems less severe than previous coronavirus strains, the rapid spread has led to staff shortages at area hospitals.

North Texas has more reported cases of COVID than at any other time since the pandemic began.<ul><li>Dallas County reported 6,589 new coronavirus cases Friday, the highest number of single-day cases on record.</li></ul>

Where to get tested for COVID in Dallas and Fort Worth

Dallas County opened two new COVID testing locations this week to keep up with increasing demand.

Dallas County opened two new COVID testing locations this week to keep up with increasing demand. Driving the news: The number of new coronavirus cases continues to rise, and the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="White House has promised" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/biden-administration-coronavirus-testing-month-6967f346-b498-476b-8263-dc044214c13d.html" data-vars-content-id="765ccc32-8d26-4221-b79c-012ff0dcbddc" data-vars-headline="Where to get tested for COVID in Dallas and Fort Worth" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/biden-administration-coronavirus-testing-month-6967f346-b498-476b-8263-dc044214c13d.html" target="_self">White House has promised</a> to have at-home COVID tests available by mail soon.

COVID 🦠