With hospitals full, El Paso extends business shutdown for three weeks

[TexasTowelie]

by Julián Aguilar, Texas Tribune


EL PASO - El Paso’s temporary shutdown of nonessential businesses will continue for at least three more weeks under a new executive order issued by County Judge Ricardo Samaniego. The move extends a previous order Samaniego issued on Oct. 29 in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19 in this border city, where local hospital beds are scarce because of a surge of coronavirus patients.

The county has struggled to contain new infections, which have exceeded 1,000 daily several times during the last two weeks. The outbreak was responsible for another 14 deaths reported Wednesday, and active cases in this border area are now at more than 29,000. Nearly 1,100 patients are hospitalized, including 279 in intensive care, according to the latest government statistics.

Samaniego’s extension of the shutdown order until Dec. 1 comes despite the Texas Attorney General’s office’s ongoing efforts to have the county order squashed in court. Attorney General Ken Paxton and local restaurants argued the order exceeded the restrictions permitted under Gov. Greg Abbott’s own order, which outlines what limits can be placed on private businesses.

A state district judge last week permitted the El Paso shutdown order to stand pending a final resolution of the case. The Texas Supreme Court on Wednesday also declined to halt the order and instead said a resolution from the state's 8th Court of Appeals is expected later this week.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2020/11/11/el-paso-shutdown-coronavirus/