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COVID-19

PHOTOS: Life In Central Texas During The Coronavirus Pandemic

KUT 90.5 | By KUT Staff
Published March 19, 2020 at 6:03 AM CDT
Stone Wang teaches band at Walsh Middle School in Round Rock.
Julia Reihs
/
KUT
Stone Wang teaches band at Walsh Middle School in Round Rock. He says teaching students in person and online simultaneously is challenging.

KUT's photographers are documenting the changes to daily life that a pandemic has brought to the Austin area — from a safe distance.

See more photos from Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon, Gabriel C. Pérez, Julia Reihs and Michael Minasi on our Flickr page. Do you have a news tip? Email us at news@KUT.org.

The entrance to the Texas House of Representatives chamber in the Texas Capitol is closed off Jan. 11, the day before the start of the 2021 Texas legislative session.
Gabriel C. Pérez
/
KUT
The entrance to the Texas House of Representatives chamber in the Texas Capitol is closed off Jan. 11, the day before the start of the 2021 Texas legislative session.
Sorcha Wilson (left), Olivia Linscomb (center) and Zoe Rabinowitz (right) make a snowman at Brentwood Neighborhood Park on Jan 10, 2021.
Julia Reihs
/
KUT
Sorcha Wilson (left), Olivia Linscomb (center) and Zoe Rabinowitz (right) make a snowman at Brentwood Neighborhood Park on Jan 10, 2021.
Medical Assistant Esmeralda Torres receives the COVID-19 vaccine Pfizer BioNTech during injections to healthcare workers at Dell Medical School on Dec. 15, 2020. (Gabriel C. Pérez/KUT News)
Gabriel C. Pérez
/
Medical Assistant Esmeralda Torres receives the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine during injections to health care workers at Dell Medical School on Dec. 15.
People celebrate President-elect Joe Biden's victory in downtown Austin in November.
Gabriel C. Pérez
/
KUT
People celebrate President-elect Joe Biden's victory in downtown Austin in November.
Voters wear masks to cast ballots at Arbor Walk Shopping Center in North Austin on Election Day.
Credit Julia Reihs
/
KUT
Voters wear masks to cast ballots at Arbor Walk Shopping Center in North Austin on Election Day.
A candle tribute to individuals who lost their lives to the COVID-19 pandemic in Travis County is set up outside of the Long Center in October. The temporary memorial featured 450 battery-operated candles for 450 deaths at the time.
Michael Minasi
/
KUT
A candle tribute to individuals who lost their lives to the COVID-19 pandemic in Travis County is set up outside of the Long Center in October. The temporary memorial featured 450 battery-operated candles for 450 deaths at the time.

Dressed as skeletons, David and Jaime Brown take their 2-year-old son, Houston, trick-or-treating in the Hyde Park neighborhood.
Credit Michael Minasi
/
KUT
David and Jaime Brown take their 2-year-old son, Houston, trick-or-treating in the Hyde Park neighborhood.
Council members can be seen on a screen in the front of a room at the Palmer Events Center during a virtual City Council meeting.
Credit Gabriel C. Pérez
/
KUT
Austin City Council members discuss the proposed budget during a virtual meeting Aug. 12. Spaced seating was set up at the Palmer Events Center for the public to testify "in person."
A protester holds a sign that says, "Students bring home more than homework," at a rally outside the Texas Capitol.
Credit Michael Minasi
/
KUT
Teachers and their supporters protest the Texas Education Association's guidelines regarding in-person classes this fall, outside the Capitol on July 15.
Credit Gabriel C. Pérez
/
KUT
People wearing face masks walk along South Congress Avenue on July 1. The governor issued an order the next day mandating masks in public.
Demonstrators gather between the Texas Capitol and governor's mansion to protest the shutdown of bars in response to the coronavirus pandemic on June 30.
Credit Michael Minasi
/
KUT
Demonstrators gather between the Texas Capitol and governor's mansion to protest the shutdown of bars in response to the coronavirus pandemic on June 30.
From left to right, Bradley Spears as Frozone, Hayden Ortiz as Spiderman Miles Morales and Afsaneh Ortiz as Storm. The three, members of the group Black Lives Matter Cosplayers, pose at Lake Pflugerville for "In Celebration of Freedom: A Pflugerville June
Credit Gabriel C. Pérez
/
KUT
From left to right, Bradley Spears as Frozone, Hayden Ortiz as Spiderman Miles Morales and Afsaneh Ortiz as Storm. The three, members of the group Black Lives Matter Cosplayers, pose at Lake Pflugerville for "In Celebration of Freedom: A Pflugerville Juneteenth" on June 20.

Shane Reilly started the flag installation in front on his North Austin home when there were just 973 deaths related to COVID-19 in Texas. He says he updates it every few days.
Credit Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon
/
KUT
Shane Reilly started the flag installation in front on his North Austin home when there were just 973 deaths related to COVID-19 in Texas. He says he updates it every few days.
High school seniors participate in a graduation parade in the Highland Park neighborhood on May 26.
Credit Gabriel C. Pérez
/
KUT
High school seniors participate in a graduation parade in the Highland Park neighborhood on May 26.
Customers crowd picnic tables outside Lazarus Brewing Company on the first day bars are allowed to reopen in Texas.
Credit Gabriel C. Pérez
/
KUT
Customers crowd picnic tables outside Lazarus Brewing Company on the first day bars are allowed to reopen in Texas.
Glen Kruth puts on gloves before making a sandwich for a customer at Dive Bar and Lounge on May 21. Despite being allowed to reopen, the bar is sticking to takeout for now.
Credit Michael Minasi
/
KUT
Glen Kruth puts on gloves before making a sandwich for a customer at Dive Bar and Lounge on May 21. Despite being allowed to reopen, the bar is sticking to takeout for now.
Air Force Thunderbirds fly over Austin in a salute to essential workers on May 13.
Credit Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon
/
KUT
Air Force Thunderbirds fly over Austin in a salute to essential workers on May 13.
Neighbors listen to a free concert in the front yard of a Northwest Austin home on May 2.
Credit Gabriel C. Pérez
/
KUT
Neighbors listen to a free concert in the front yard of a Northwest Austin home on May 2.
Shops in the Domain began reopening May 1 as the state moved into phase one of Gov. Greg Abbott's plan to reopen the Texas economy.
Credit Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon
/
KUT
Shops in the Domain began reopening May 1 as the state moved into phase one of Gov. Greg Abbott's plan to reopen the Texas economy.
Police arrest activists following a May 1 demonstration on I-35 to demand rent relief during the coronavirus pandemic.
Credit Gabriel C. Pérez
/
KUT
Police arrest activists following a May 1 demonstration on I-35 to demand rent relief during the coronavirus pandemic.
A worker directs traffic lining up for food from the Central Texas Food Bank at the Toney Burger Center in South Austin on April 30.
Credit Gabriel C. Pérez
/
KUT
A worker directs traffic lining up for food from the Central Texas Food Bank at the Toney Burger Center in South Austin on April 30.
Passersby take photos of murals on boarded-up bars and restaurants along Sixth Street.
Credit Michael Minasi
/
KUT
Passersby take photos of murals on boarded-up bars and restaurants along Sixth Street.
Firefighters don face masks April 20 as they await a procession for a San Marcos police officer who was killed responding to a domestic violence call. The procession was rerouted.
Credit Gabriel C. Pérez
/
KUT
Firefighters don face masks April 20 as they await a procession for a San Marcos police officer who was killed responding to a domestic violence call. The procession was rerouted.
Protesters rally outside the governor's mansion on April 16, demanding that the state be reopened.
Credit Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon
/
KUT
Protesters rally outside the governor's mansion on April 16, demanding that the state be reopened.
Jeff Levine puts a face mask over the statute of Stevie Ray Vaughn at Auditorium Shores on April 16.
Credit Gabriel C. Pérez
/
KUT
Jeff Levine puts a face mask over the statute of Stevie Ray Vaughn at Auditorium Shores on April 16.
Rent strike flyers are posted in the Cherrywood neighborhood on April 10.
Credit Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon
/
KUT
Rent strike flyers are posted in the Cherrywood neighborhood on April 10.
Portable bathrooms and hand washing stations were installed near a camp for people experiencing homelessness in South Austin during the pandemic.
Credit Gabriel C. Pérez
/
KUT
Portable bathrooms and hand washing stations were installed near a camp for people experiencing homelessness in South Austin during the pandemic.
Caution tape surrounds playground equipment at McKinney Heights Park in South Austin. Park amenities in Austin were closed on March 28 to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Credit Gabriel C. Pérez
/
KUT
Caution tape surrounds playground equipment at McKinney Heights Park in South Austin. Park amenities in Austin were closed on March 28 to slow the spread of COVID-19.
A man wears a bandana over his face while fishing at Mueller Lake Park on March 27.
Credit Gabriel C. Pérez
/
KUT
A man wears a bandana over his face while fishing at Mueller Lake Park on March 27.
Tables at a food truck court have been turned over to prevent customers from eating on-site.
Credit Gabriel C. Pérez
/
KUT
Tables at a food truck court have been turned over to prevent customers from eating on-site.
A United State Postal Service employee delivers mail while wearing a mask and gloves on March 27.
Credit Gabriel C. Pérez
/
KUT
A United State Postal Service employee delivers mail while wearing a mask and gloves on March 27.
A man reads a book in a hammock in Blunn Creek Nature Preserve in South Austin on March 29.
Credit Gabriel C. Pérez
/
KUT
A person reads a book in a hammock in Blunn Creek Nature Preserve in South Austin on March 29.
Holly McDaniel with Austin Diaper Bank distributes free diapers to families March 27.
Credit Gabriel C. Pérez
/
KUT
Holly McDaniel with Austin Diaper Bank distributes free diapers to families March 27.
Joni Watkins and Matt Umberger sew masks to donate to health care workers, on the porch of their South Austin home.
Credit Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon
/
KUT
Joni Watkins and Matt Umberger sew masks to donate to health care workers, on the porch of their South Austin home.
Zach Volta, chef at Casino El Camino, spray paints the boarded-up window on the front of the Sixth Street restaurant as his coworkers watch March 19
Credit Julia Reihs
/
KUT
Zach Volta, chef at Casino El Camino, spray paints the boarded-up window on the front of the Sixth Street restaurant as his coworkers watch March 19

Park-goers exercise at Vic Mathias Shores while keeping their distance from one another on March 23.
Credit Julia Reihs
/
KUT
Park-goers exercise at Vic Mathias Shores while keeping their distance from one another on March 23.
Shoppers stand apart from one another as they wait to enter an H-E-B grocery store in South Austin on March 23.
Credit Gabriel C. Pérez
/
KUT
Shoppers stand apart from one another as they wait to enter an H-E-B grocery store in South Austin on March 23.
A yard display in Austin's Northwest Hills neighborhood reads, "Don't know what you got until it's gone," referencing hard-to-find toilet paper during the coronavirus pandemic.
Credit Gabriel C. Pérez
/
KUT
A yard display in Austin's Northwest Hills neighborhood reads, "Don't know what you got until it's gone," referencing hard-to-find toilet paper during the coronavirus pandemic.
Drive-thru coronavirus testing is popping up across Texas, including this screening site at the CommunityCare Hancock Clinic in Central Austin.
Credit Gabriel C. Pérez
/
KUT
Drive-thru coronavirus testing is popping up across Texas, including this screening site at the CommunityCare Hancock Clinic in Central Austin.
Students pack their belongings on the UT Austin campus on March 18, after the university system asked students not to return from spring break.
Credit Gabriel C. Pérez
/
KUT
Students pack their belongings on the UT Austin campus on March 18, after the university system asked students not to return from spring break.
A man walks on the UT Austin campus with a pack of toilet paper and other supplies on March 16.
Credit Gabriel C. Pérez
/
KUT
A person walks on the UT Austin campus with a pack of toilet paper and other supplies on March 16.
The Paramount Theatre, which would have been bustling during South by Southwest, sits on a quiet Congress Avenue on March 17.
Credit Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon
/
KUT
The Paramount Theatre, which would have been bustling during South by Southwest, sits on a quiet Congress Avenue on March 17.
Poornima Omkant and Omkant Noubad walk in the empty lot where their food cart, Little Vibes, was set to open March 20.
Credit Julia Reihs
/
KUT
Poornima Omkant and Omkant Noubad walk in the empty lot where their food cart, Little Vibes, was set to open March 20.
A Cap Metro bus displays a message advising people to wash their hands and stay home if they're sick to help stop the spread the coronavirus.
Credit Gabriel C. Pérez
/
KUT
A Cap Metro bus displays a message advising people to wash their hands and stay home if they're sick to help stop the spread the coronavirus.
The Texas Capitol is closing to the public in an effort to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Credit Gabriel C. Pérez
/
KUT
The Texas Capitol is closing to the public in an effort to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Calls to social distance during the pandemic can be seen on city street signs, buses and at El Arroyo.
Credit Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon
/
KUT
Calls to social distance during the pandemic can be seen on city street signs, buses and at El Arroyo.
The patio of a restaurant in The Domain is empty during lunchtime on March 16.
Credit Gabriel C. Pérez
/
KUT
The patio of a restaurant in The Domain is empty during lunchtime on March 16, two days before the City of Austin announced dining in at restaurants would be prohibited.
Not everyone's social distancing, though. A ban on gatherings of more than 10 people went into effect on March 17.
Credit Gabriel C. Pérez
/
KUT
Park-goers seem unconcerned about calls for social distancing at Zilker Park on March 16. A ban on gatherings of more than 10 people went into effect the next day.

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