Texas governor expresses concern about virus ‘trend lines’ in El Paso

AUSTIN, Texas -- With nearly 11,700 Texans having tested positive for the coronavirus, including over 200 in El Paso, Gov. Greg Abbott expressed concern at a state capitol news conference Friday about the "trend lines" for El Paso.

The governor said he'd had a conversation with Mayor Dee Margo about the situation in El Paso, where cases are on the uptick and causing concern. So far, 225 El Pasoans have been diagnosed with the virus and one death has occurred.

"Clearly looking at the trend lines in El Paso, the more you gather in large numbers, you are compromising the health and safety of your loved ones," Abbott said. He urged El Pasoans during the Easter weekend to follow the city-county order to stay home.

The governor said he anticipated seeing a "higher trend" of cases occurring in El Paso for the next couple of weeks before the curve "begins to bend" downward.

Statewide, Texas continues to see a surge in the overall number of people testing positive for the coronavirus. As of Friday, state health officials reported at least 11,671 confirmed cases and 226 deaths.

More than 160 of the state's 1,222 nursing homes, or about 13%, have at least one case of the coronavirus. Of those, 38 nursing home residents and staff members have died of Covid-19 statewide, according to a disclosure from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.

"Every life lost is one too many," Abbott said. But he noted a "sign of hope" in all the data, with Texas ranking second in the nation for virus recoveries. As of Friday, 1,366 Texans had recovered, he said.

Amid Trump administration discussions about when Americans might be able to begin returning to work, the governor said he anticipated making an announcement next week about "what opening up looks like."

(The Texas Tribune contributed to this report.)