WACO, Texas — A top doctor in Texas is warning that the state’s big cities could see “apocalyptic” coronavirus case numbers. That warning, based on the current Texas trajectory, comes from Dr. Peter Hotez, a professor of pediatrics and molecular virology and microbiology who is also working on a potential Covid-19 vaccine. In addition, he’s
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ALAMOGORDO, New Mexico — About 80% of inmates at the Otero County Prison in southern New Mexico have tested positive for the coronavirus, officials said Thursday. The outbreak started in early May when officials learned a staff member tested positive for Covid-19. “We asked that individual to be removed from shift, and then we traced
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WASHINGTON, DC — Nearly 1.1 million coronavirus relief payments totaling some $1.4 billion went to dead people, a government watchdog reported Thursday. Legal and political issues hang over the misdirected taxpayer funds, the latest example of errors in massive aid being dispensed at crisis speed. More than 130 million so-called economic impact payments were sent
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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. Dr. Burgos was unavailable this week,
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EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The El Paso Department of Public Health on Thursday morning announced three more people had died from Covid-19, bringing the county’s death toll to 125. Officials identified the victims as a man in his 50s, a man in his 60s and a woman in her 60s. All had underlying health
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AUSTIN, Texas — As the number of Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations continues to climb, the Texas Department of Emergency Management said it’s prepared with plenty of personal protective equipment – or PPE – for hospitals across the state. Chief Nim Kidd told ABC-7 in an interview on Wednesday that the state has about 24 million
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EL PASO, Texas — As coronavirus cases surge across Texas, setting daily records for new infections and hospitalizations, ABC News confirmed Wednesday that the Trump administration plans to pull funding for community testing efforts in El Paso, Houston and Dallas. In all, El Paso is among 13 community testing sites across five states in hard-hit
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CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico — Mexico confirmed 947 more coronavirus deaths on Wednesday, with nine of those occurring in the city of Juarez and 14 in Chihuahua state, in what was the country’s second-highest daily toll since the pandemic began. The highest daily toll in the nation came June 3 with 1,092 deaths. The Health Department
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ALPINE, Texas — A priest in Alpine has been diagnosed with Covid-19, the Catholic Diocese of El Paso announced Wednesday. Rev. Edilberto “Beto Lopez, the pastor of Our Lady of Peace in Alpine, has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the Diocese. Lopez and Father Joe Raj, who serves as the vicar at the
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SANTA FE, New Mexico — Health officials in New Mexico reported 156 more coronavirus cases around the state Wednesday, along with four additional deaths. That raised New Mexico’s total number of Covid-19 cases to 10,990 while the death toll reached 480. Department of Health officials said 21 of the new confirmed cases were reported in
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The number of active coronavirus cases reached a new peak in El Paso Wednesday. The Department of Public Health reported 132 new cases, however, no new deaths were announced. The death toll due to the virus remains 122 in El Paso County. There have now been 4,809 confirmed cases, with
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LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — After losing his uncle to Covid-19, a Las Cruces city councilman is urging the public to wear masks and prevent the loss of more lives. “People are dying alone,” said Councilman Gabe Vasquez, who represents district three. “There wasn’t a hand for my uncle to hold or a reassuring voice.”
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AUSTIN, Texas — Rapidly worsening coronavirus numbers in Texas reached bleak new milestones Tuesday as the state surpassed 5,000 new cases in a single day — prompting renewed warnings from Gov. Greg Abbott, who urged residents to stay home. “Because the spread is so rampant right now, there is never a reason for you to
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SANTA FE, New Mexico — New Mexico’s public schools now have rules and suggestions for how to reopen in the fall in what could amount to a giant experiment during an uncertain time brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. The Public Education Department released guidance Tuesday that requires schools to start the year in a hybrid learning
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AUSTIN, Texas — Texas education officials are envisioning a largely hands-off approach to helping school districts bring students back to campus this fall, imposing few mandatory safety precautions but recommending staff and students wear masks, hand sanitize regularly and stay six feet away from each other, according to draft documents from the Texas Education Agency
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EL PASO, Texas — Ysleta Independent School District officials said Tuesday evening that the start of Hanks High School summer sports workouts would be cancelled after a coach tested positive for the coronavirus. Student-athletes for a variety of sports at Hanks were set to report on Wednesday to begin conditioning at the school located at
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LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — New Mexico health officials reported seven new coronavirus deaths on Tuesday, two of which occurred in Doña Ana County, raising the state’s fatality count to 476. The latest deaths happened just a day after New Mexico had experienced its first day of recording no deaths since mid-April. The two Doña
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EL PASO, Texas — A Texas National Guardsman who worked at the El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank has tested positive for Covid-19, an official with the food bank confirmed Tuesday. The food bank continues to operate and has “low risk” of virus exposure, said Marty Otero, director of communications for El Pasoans Fighting Hunger.
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — The next few weeks are critical to tamping down a disturbing coronavirus surge, Dr. Anthony Fauci told Congress on Tuesday — issuing a plea for people to avoid crowds and wear masks just hours before mask-shunning President Donald Trump was set to hold a campaign rally in one hot spot. Fauci and
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EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The coronavirus death toll in El Paso County now stands at 122. The Department of Public Health announced two new deaths and 124 new cases on Tuesday morning. The latest victims were identified as a man and a woman, both in their 70s with underlying health conditions. There have now
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EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Just a few months ago, it would’ve seemed strange to see someone walking around with a face mask. Now, it’s the new normal. While the goal of these masks is to slow the spread of coronavirus, these coverings have also made communicating harder for those who identify as deaf. “It’s
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AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday struck a newly urgent tone about rising coronavirus numbers in Texas but said “closing down Texas again will always be the last option.” “To state the obvious, Covid-19 is now spreading at an unacceptable rate in Texas and it must be corralled,” Abbott said during a news conference at
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas — As Texas Gov. Greg Abbott held a news conference Monday to acknowledge that the numbers of Covid-19 cases and people gong to the hospital with the virus are rising at an “unacceptable rate,” he also said the state is implementing more testing in hot spots. He said in the last half
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EL PASO, Texas — An El Paso woman is a fighter. Staff of Las Palmas Medical Center lined the hallway as 61-year-old Maria Soto was finally discharged. She spent 36 days in the hospital fighting Covid-19. As she made her departure from the hospital with her daughter, she had some heartfelt words for the hospital
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ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico — There will be no hot air balloons lifting off this fall as part of an international event that draws hundreds of thousands of spectators and ballooning teams from around the world to the heart of New Mexico. This would have marked the 49th year for the event, a colorful spectacle that
Continue Reading SANTA FE, New Mexico — Health officials in New Mexico, for the first time in over two months, reported no new deaths from the coronavirus on Monday. That kept the death toll at 469. The last time there were no deaths reported in the daily count was back on April 15. The number of infections
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SUNLAND PARK, New Mexico — Twenty Sunland Park Police Department officers are now back on the job after a coronavirus scare. The group has all tested negative for Covid-19, Deputy Police Chief Eric Lopez told ABC-7 on Monday afternoon. The officers had been quarantined at home since late last week after one of their colleagues
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WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, on Monday called Gov. Greg Abbott’s leadership during the coronavirus pandemic a “total failure,” saying he rushed to allow Texas businesses to reopen before properly dealing with the health crisis – hurting communities across state. “We have not been doing well in El Paso in terms of flattening
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — For the second straight day the Department of Public Health reported no new coronavirus-related deaths in El Paso. The death toll stands at 120, of which 20 of those deaths occurred last week. Total cases now stand at 4,553 after an increase of 65 new cases. Of that caseload, 3,195
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EL PASO, Texas — Mayor Dee Margo said he does not think a new face mask order that takes effect Monday in El Paso is an “onerous burden,” but rather is a small price to pay to keep the economy open and stop the spread of the coronavirus. “We’re going to have to figure out
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