El Paso County Judge Provides Update on
County's Stay Home Order
El Paso, Texas-Tonight, the 8th Court of Appeals, in a 2 to 1 decision, enjoined only certain sections of the County’s Stay Home Order. While I am extremely disappointed in the ruling, I will honor the Court’s decision. Our family members, our friends, and our neighbors are dying, and our hospitals, funeral homes, and morgues are at capacity. El Paso has had 40,000 new cases in the last 30 days, and 20,000 new cases since the Halloween weekend. This is 10,000 new positive COVID-19 cases per week. Today, the El Paso Health Department reported 29 additional deaths which sadly brings us to a total of 725 deaths. El Paso is currently at 54% of Covid-19 hospitalizations and we are still at STAGE 1 on El Paso’s COVID-19 Community Scorecard. Stage 1 is the worst rating on the scorecard.
For clarity, the 8th Court of Appeals also made clear that certain sections of the County’s Order do remain enforceable.
The sections which are enforceable tonight are:
- The limitation on non-essential businesses, with limited exceptions, remains at 50% occupancy;
- All restaurants in the County shall cease all dine-in services by 9:00 PM. After 9:00 PM, restaurants are limited to take out and drive-thru only.
- Gatherings remain limited to no more than 10 people;
- Bars remain closed;
- Masks remain mandatory in public except under very limited situations;
Tomorrow, after a final ruling by the 8th Court of Appeals, I will issue a final order. For tonight, I strongly urge citizens to stay home, wear masks and socially distance themselves from others. Additionally, I will be exploring legal permissible options to stop the spread of the virus. I will be looking to the business community and others to create a safe pathway moving forward. Of course, I sympathize with our businesses who are hurting, I sympathize with families who have lost their loved ones, and I sympathize with our frontline healthcare workers who are exhausted and overwhelmed. This pandemic has taken its toll on all of us and I am hopeful that we can all work together so that in the months to come we do not find ourselves in a more horrible situation. We can’t repeat our mistakes in re-opening without thoughtful restrictions. We owe it to our community to do better.
I sincerely believe that being born and raised in El Paso has given me the passion and determination to earnestly protect our community. This has been my main goal since the beginning of this pandemic. Who should be held accountable for the inevitable surge of COVID-19 hospitalizations and the further indignation of souls at our morgues? There will not be a better time for us to be “El Paso Strong” than at this critical point in time.
500 E. San Antonio, Suite 301, El Paso, TX 79901
