EL PASO, Texas — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton tweeted Thursday night that his office was “quickly exploring” all legal options after El Paso County issued an order shutting down all non-essential businesses due to a severe spike in Covid-19 illness that has overwhelmed local hospitals. “El Paso County Judge (Ricardo) Samaniego has no authority
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EL PASO, Texas — The University of Texas El Paso said late Thursday night that it would follow El Paso County’s lead, as it announced the closure of the student recreation center and campus dining services for the next two weeks. The announcement from UTEP President Heather Wilson came just hours after El Paso County
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EL PASO, Texas (KVIA-TV) — Nearly six months after losing a husband and a father, the Gonzalez family is still trying to navigate their new reality. Every member of the family of four contracted the coronavirus in May, but Eddie Gonzalez didn’t make it. “It changed our life completely,” Ana Gonzalez, Eddie’s widow, said. “I’m
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FORT BLISS, Texas — U.S. Army officials at Fort Bliss on Thursday night announced that only essential services would be allowed to remain in operation due the severe Covid-19 outbreak plaquing the Borderland. The word from Fort Bliss came just hours after El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego ordered the shutdown of all non-essential businesses
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Grocery store work puts employees at serious risk for infection, a new study found, particularly those who have to interact with customers. These workers likely became a “significant transmission source” for Covid-19 without even knowing it because most in the study were asymptomatic. The analysis, published Thursday in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, is
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LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — Doña Ana County shattered it’s record for new daily new coronavirus cases on Thursday with 248, which amounted to nearly a quarter of all additional cases reported statewide. New Mexico state health officials said Thursday’s statewide count of confirmed infections — 1,082 — smashed a record that was set just
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EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — In an effort to deliver the most comprehensive coronavirus coverage, ABC-7 has started a weekly feature where we ask Dr. Jose Burgos, the director of internal medicine at University Medical Center, the same seven questions each week to track how the pandemic is changing. Here’s the Q&A for October 29:
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SANTA FE, New Mexico — The chief medical officer for the largest hospital system in New Mexico said Thursday that the state is at a pivotal point with the coronavirus as a new high was set for the daily case count and hospitalizations hit record levels. Dr. Jason Mitchell with Presbyterian Healthcare Services said during a briefing
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EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The El Paso Department of Public Health reported two coronavirus-related deaths and 1,128 new cases Thursday morning. It brings the death toll to 585 in El Paso County. There are now 14,359 known active virus cases, which is a new record. The number of hospitalizations increased from 908 to 934
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EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey — UTEP alum and New York Giants’ starting left guard Will Hernandez is in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19, ESPN reported Thursday citing team sources. The Giants, in a statement, indicated that one of its players had tested positive on Wednesday night, but didn’t identify that person. ESPN said it confirmed Hernandez
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EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Coronavirus cases have dipped and surged in the Borderland ever since the fall semester began. As a result, reopening plans for school districts have been in limbo. This week, a new safety plan was developed to help schools reopen their campuses safely. District superintendents, the Texas Education Agency, and El
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EL PASO, Texas — The University Medical Center of El Paso recently started erecting heated isolation tents to treat coronavirus patients amid a surge in Covid-19 hospitalizations, and now other medical facilities are following with similar tent plans to manage the influx of those needing medical care. UMC set up what was its fourth tent
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EL PASO, Texas — Contentious exchanges filled Tuesday evening’s marathon city council meeting, which lasted nearly nine hours. Some key decisions were made about the pandemic, as well as the best way for El Paso representatives and leaders to respond. One of the most heated debates was over the possibility of requiring El Paso’s bars
Continue Reading SANTA FE, New Mexico — New Mexico Department of Health officials reported 663 more confirmed Covid-19 cases Wednesday along with 11 additional deaths. The latest numbers increased the state’s totals to 43,826 cases and 991 known deaths. Health officials said 97 of the new coronavirus cases were in Doña Ana County, along with two of the
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EL PASO, Texas — To better understand a person’s Covid-19 antibody response, the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston is looking for Texas volunteers to participate in the Texas Cares – Texas Coronavirus Antibody Response survey. Individuals who have tested positive, negative, or have never been tested for Covid-19 at all are welcome
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EL PASO, Texas — State emergency management officials offered an inside look Wednesday as a portion of the El Paso Convention and Performing Arts Center gets turned into a makeshift hospital to help with the ongoing surge of coronavirus cases. Texas officials provided video and photos as 50 hospital beds were being set up in
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EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — El Paso County set a new record for coronavirus hospitalizations Wednesday morning, increasing the workload for hospitals that are already spread thin. There are 908 hospitalizations and 223 patients in El Paso’s ICUs. Dr. Ogechika Alozie, an infectious disease specialist and chief medical officer at Del Sol Medical Center, said
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — El Paso County continues to break unwanted coronavirus records. The El Paso Department of Public Health announced three new deaths and 854 new cases Wednesday morning. Hospitalizations also increased to 908, with 223 patients in the ICU. Both of those are record-high numbers. The latest fatality victims were identified as
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EL PASO, Texas — A record surge in coronavirus cases is pushing hospitals to the brink in both the cities of El Paso and Ciudad Juarez, confronting health officials in Texas and Mexico with twin disasters in this tightly knit metropolitan area of 3 million people. Health officials are blaming the spike on family gatherings,
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EL PASO, Texas — When El Pasoan Kevin Goode saw the latest news about the novel coronavirus over the weekend, he knew what he needed to do Monday: cast his ballot in the 2020 presidential election. “I was planning on voting anyway, but right now, since there are not that many people [here], I thought
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EL PASO, Texas – UTEP’s home football game against North Texas on Saturday has been postponed. UTEP Athletic Director Jim Senter confirmed to ABC-7 Tuesday evening that the decision to postpone the game was made by North Texas. North Texas is refusing to come to El Paso due to the current surge in Covid-19 cases
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EL PASO, Texas – Ascarate Park has been added as a new “mega” Covid-19 testing site, the El Paso City-County Office of Emergency Management announced Tuesday evening. The site, at 6900 Delta Driver in south-central El Paso, will be open to the public starting Wednesday, and will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
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SANTA FE, New Mexico — Health officials said an additional 590 Covid-19 cases were reported Tuesday in New Mexico, with 163 of those new infections in Doña Ana County, and the day’s positivity rate calculated at 13%. Doña Ana County led New Mexico in new cases, accounting for nearly 28% of the daily count. Bernalillo
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The El Paso Department of Public Health announced 1,390 new cases and four new coronavirus-related deaths, including a woman in her 30s, on Tuesday morning. The death toll now stands at 580 in El Paso County. Health officials identified the victims as: A woman in her 30sA woman in her
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EL PASO, Texas– Hospital capacity has a prominent El Paso cardiologist fearing for his patients. “We are canceling every single elective procedure but as you understand, cardiac procedures most of the time are not elective if you’re having chest pains. If you’re having fainting spells because your heart is not performing well, you need those
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EL PASO, Texas — El Paso City Council met for a work session Monday afternoon and into the evening with an agenda dominated by coronavirus-related items in the wake of record-setting active cases and hospitalizations that prompted a nightly curfew to be put in place. A heat map shown during one of the presentations at
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EL PASO, Texas — To fight the record-setting surge of coronavirus in the Borderland, Fort Bliss has instituted a curfew to match the one implemented in El Paso County. The Fort Bliss curfew runs from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily, just like the one imposed by El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego on Sunday.
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EL PASO, Texas — The most recent surge in Covid-19 cases is pushing El Paso hospitals to their absolute limits and beyond in some cases. On Monday, it was top officials from University Medical Center telling city leadership that they’ve recently converted facility space to allow for more beds, going up from 260 to 342.
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EL PASO, Texas — On Monday evening, cars packed the parking lot at the Grace Gardens event center. Over the weekend, Grace Gardens also held a Quinceañera with more than 100 people in attendance. Managing owner Sandra Rodriguez told ABC-7 they are in compliance and are not breaking any rules when it comes to holding
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas — The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission is sending an influx of liquor agents to El Paso to help local officials enforce Covid-19 guidelines with restaurants and bars. Officials with the TABC woudn’t say how many agents it was sending or how long they will be here. A spokesperson for the TABC, Chris
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