EL PASO, Texas– Dr. Fahad Omar, a Borderland-area pulmonologist, is praising efforts across the pond as roughly one million United Kingdowm residents have quit smoking in the four months since the coronavirus pandemic first began. Nearly a half-million others have taken steps to reduce their smoking, and eventually hopefully quit. “We’ve been struggling with this
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LAS CRUCES, New Mexico – Cases of the virus might be gradually increasing in New Mexico, but state’s calls to those who have come into contact with positive patients has grown “exponentially.” “It exponentially grows every single day,” said Salina Torres of the New Mexico Department of Health. “It’s huge. We’re pulling every resource to
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DOÑA ANA COUNTY, New Mexico — The Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office is asking the governor’s office for more masks to distribute to the public as the virus spreads throughout southern New Mexico. “Send us more and we’ll pass out more,” Sheriff Kim Stewart told Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. Sheriff Stewart and her staff passed
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EL PASO, Texas — Only 12 people within the El Paso homeless community have tested positive for Covid-19 during the pandemic thus far, according to the Opportunity Center for the Homeless. Three were currently ill as of Friday. John Martin, deputy director of the Opportunity Center, said since the Delta Haven at the Chalio Acosta
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CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico — The death toll from the coronavirus in Juárez reached 634 on Friday, with a prominent bar owner among the latest casualties. Mexican media outlets first reported the death of Sergio Peña Acosta, owner of the internationally-known Kentucky Club, at age 71 from Covid-19. His son, Sergio Peña Acosta Jr., later confirmed
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LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — A man in his 60s from Doña Ana County was among five new coronavirus deaths reported by New Mexico health officials on Friday, as the state’s death toll rose to 601. Officials said the Doña Ana County man was hospitalized at the time of his death and had underlying health
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FORT BLISS, Texas — To further help fight the spread of Covid-19, all soldiers at Fort Bliss are now under orders to wear face masks while in uniform, regardless of their ability to socially distance themselves from others. The new order from the commanding general for the 1st Armored Division and Fort Bliss, Maj. Gen.
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EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The pandemic has forced businesses to close and left many El Pasoans without a job. It’s causing demand to skyrocket at the El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank. Jimmy Cativo, a mobile pantry coordinator for the food bank, says he’s felt that rise in the last few months and is
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EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The El Paso Department of Public Health announced seven coronavirus-related deaths and 249 new cases Friday morning. The death toll now stands at 218. There have already been 39 new deaths this week, which is a new record for El Paso. Health officials said all seven victims had underling health
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EL PASO, Texas — A 24-year-old woman who took two weeks to recover from Covid-19 reached out to ABC-7 to share her experience and to urge her fellow young people to do their part to slow the spread of the potentially deadly virus. Dominique Vasquez first tested negative after her father urged her to get
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EL PASO, Texas — Many El Paso residents and business owners seem to be on the same page when it comes to releasing cluster data concerning businesses infected with Covid-19. “You need to inform your customers even if you are going to lose, or if it is going to affect your business. These are peoples
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SANTA FE, New Mexico – New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Thursday afternoon hit the pause button on reopening public schools this fall, meaning classes will be online only at least through Labor Day. State public education officials initially proposed a hybrid plan combining in-person classroom time with remote online learning, but the governor
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EL PASO, Texas — Texas State Attorney General Jim Paxton has said that “protections granted by the First Amendment and Texas law… allows religious private schools to determine for themselves when to reopen free from any government mandate or interference.” This opinion from Paxton says private schools may decide for themselves whether to utilize virtual
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EL PASO, Texas — An El Paso family is waiting for their 19-year-old daughter’s Covid-19 test results while making her funeral arrangements. Dariana Rubio was having trouble breathing Monday afternoon, after multiple days experiencing cold-like symptoms. “It started off kind of like a cold,” Maria Rubio, Dariana’s mother, said in Spanish. “One day she was feeling
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EL PASO, Texas — An elementary school nurse is one of El Paso’s latest fatalities due to the coronavirus, according to the local teachers’ union. “Genevieve Martinez, the Nurse at Barron Elementary died this morning of Covid-19 after 14 days of fighting this damned virus in the hospital,” the El Paso American Federation of Teachers
Continue Reading The U.S. on Thursday surpassed 4 million officially recorded Covid-19 cases — and a quarter of that count came in just the last 15 days. The country’s rising daily rate of confirmed coronavirus cases, along with a near-record number of hospitalizations, signals the US is far from containing a virus that is straining hospitals and
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LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham ordered people excising outdoors to wear masks back on July 13. The order is a raging debate among many especially cyclists. The governor called it “a tough pill to swallow for many New Mexicans” as she rolled back the state re-opening due to the
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LOS ANGELES, California — Three out of four Americans, including a majority of Republicans, favor requiring people to wear face coverings while outside their homes, a new poll finds, reflecting fresh alarm over spiking coronavirus cases and a growing embrace of government advice intended to safeguard public health. The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for
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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 Thursday, July
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The Department of Public Health announced 15 new coronavirus-related deaths Thursday, marking the highest single-day increase for El Paso County. The health department said that the deaths did not occur on the same day, but rather they received the official causes of death at the same time. They added that
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The FDA is continuing to recall more hand sanitizer products after some have been found to be possibly contaminated with methanol. Methanol can be toxic to humans and even deadly. The Medical Director of the West Texas Regional Poison Center, and a local emergency room physician with Texas Tech University
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RUIDOSO, New Mexico — The Mescalero Apache Tribe announced Wednesday that it plans to go on lockdown, setting up roadblocks around the reservation and closing the Inn of the Mountain Gods casino, due to a surge in coronavirus cases. Tribal President Gabe Aquilar and Emergency Manager Tyner Cervantes made the announcement in a video message
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AUSTIN, TEXAS — Texas reported a new daily high number of deaths Wednesday from the illness caused by the new coronavirus, even as the state reported a slight decrease in the number of people who have tested positive. The Department of State Health Services reported a Wednesday Covid-19 death toll hit a record 197, beating the previous
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LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham was awaiting a response Wednesday from leaders of New Mexico State University and the University of New Mexico following a request that both forgo playing college football games this fall due to the coronavirus pandemic. In a letter to university administrators, a copy of
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SANTA FE, New Mexico — State health officials on Wednesday reported 316 new coronavirus cases, bringing the statewide total to 17,828 since the pandemic began. Three more deaths were also reported across the state, bringing that tally to 591. In southern New Mexico, there were 53 new cases in Doña Ana County for a cumulative
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The El Paso Department of Public Health announced nine new coronavirus-related deaths on Wednesday morning. It’s the second deadliest virus day El Paso County has experienced since the start of the pandemic. The record of 14 was set last week. The death toll now stands at 196 in El Paso
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EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — As coronavirus testing sites throughout the country struggle with long lines and delayed results, some private companies are stepping in to fill in the gaps. That includes El Paso company Revive Medical, PLLC. The company specializes in medical standby at events like concerts and music festivals. Managing Partner Michael Sarabia
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EL PASO, Texas — El Paso City Council voted 5-4 Tuesday, with Mayor Dee Margo breaking ties, to continue withholding information on the specific locations of Covid-19 clusters and to reject a plan for additional city virus testing sites. That means identities of businesses, nursing homes and other locations where significant outbreaks of the virus
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LAS CRUCES, New Mexico – The U.S. Courthouse in Las Cruces is being shut down for the rest of the week after a coronavirus outbreak at the facility. Federal officials said in a statement Tuesday evening that a contractor had tested positive for the virus resulting in a “number of court security personnel who have
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EL PASO, Texas — In an interview with ABC-7 on Tuesday evening, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declined to directly address a remark by one of his advisers that was critical of President Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. Adviser David Carney told the New York Times that “the president got bored with it,” so Abbott
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