EL PASO, Texas — El Paso city and county officials holding a coronavirus briefing on Tuesday evening reported 47 new cases for a total of 587. “We have not reached our peak,” because we are still seeing significant numbers of additional cases, said City/County Health Authority Dr. Hector Ocaranza. He indicated at least 42 of
Continue Reading
AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott, speaking from the Texas Capitol on Tuesday afternoon, said the state was experiencing positive trends in its efforts to combat the coronavirus. Over 20,000 Texans have tested positive, and 517 have died from the virus, according to state health officials on Tuesday, but Abbott mainatined “deaths continue to trend down, all
Continue Reading
WASHINGTON, DC — President Donald Trump announced what he described as a “temporary suspension of immigration into the United States” on Tuesday. But he said the executive order he plans to sign as soon as Wednesday would apply only to those seeking permanent residency and not temporary workers. Trump said he would be placing a
Continue Reading
EL PASO, Texas — Many in our region travel back and forth between El Paso and Ciudad Juárez. Though traffic has slowed with the implementation of border restrictions, the communities remain interconnected. As both fight the same fight against COVID-19, one local infectious disease expert warns of challenges in containing the virus on either side.
Continue Reading
EL PASO, Texas — An El Paso doctor’s wife wanted to show the hardworking staff at University Medical Center her gratitude during the pandemic. Georgina Williams, married to Dr. Gethin Williams, made 144 tamales to give to the UMC doctors and nurses on Tuesday. “There’s a story behind the tamales,” Williams explained. “Every year since
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas — Public health officials on Monday announced a ninth death in El Paso County due to the coronavirus. The latest death was a man in his 60s, officials said. Health leaders also reported nine new virus cases bringing the county’s total number of infections to 540. Among the new cases Monday was
Continue Reading
EL PASO, Texas — The state of Texas has officially begun taking steps to slowly reopen as the state continues to deal with the coronavirus outbreak. While many state parks are beginning to reopen, El Paso will not see the Franklin Mountains or Hueco Tanks reopen locally. Statewide others will remain closed as is the
Continue Reading
EL PASO, Texas — Despite the number of coronavirus cases in El Paso and the rest of Texas continuing to rise, several restrictions are being eased in efforts to reopen the state which is benefiting some El Pasoans. One El Paso orthopedic group was anxiously awaiting the governor’s decision to announce three new executive orders
Continue Reading
EL PASO, Texas — Four people have contracted the coronavirus at the El Paso Processing Center operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to Congresswoman Veronica Escobar. She made the disclosure in a tweet Monday afternoon, saying her office had confirmed the cases. But she didn’t indicate whether those infected were employees or detained migrants.
Continue Reading
WASHINGTON, DC — President Donald Trump on Monday again criticized governors who’ve said they don’t have enough tests for the new coronavirus to ease restrictions on economic activity. Many of the nation’s governors have expressed concerns about returning to a more normal course of business without greatly expanding testing. Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland
Continue Reading
LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — Beginning this week, New Mexicans should see an extra $600 in their unemployment checks from the federal government. “This week, people on unemployment should start seeing more money going into their pockets,” said Secretary Bill McCamley of New Mexico’s Department of Workforce Solutions. According to the state, nearly 80,000 New
Continue Reading
LAS CRUCES, New Mexico – As the state of Texas begins to open up its economy during the pandemic, what will stop Las Cruces residents from shopping in El Paso? “Nothing,” said El Paso Mayor Dee Margo. “We welcome them with open arms.” “We always enjoy seeing our friends there and neighbors in El Paso,
Continue Reading
GENEVA, Switzerland — The World Health Organization chief warned Monday that “the worst is yet ahead of us” in the coronavirus outbreak, reviving the alarm just as many countries ease restrictive measures aimed at reducing its spread. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus didn’t specify why he believes the outbreak that has infected some 2.5 million people and
Continue Reading
WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Treasury Department has confirmed that economic impact paper checks from the $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus relief package have already started going out and are in the mail. Department officials are walking back Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s comments at a White House gaggle with reporters where he said they would start going out
Continue Reading
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Acting secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf announced Monday that the U.S., Canada and Mexico agreed to keep their borders closed to nonessential travel for 30 more days. President Donald Trump said this past weeek that the U.S.-Canada border will be among the first borders to open and says the
Continue Reading
EL PASO, Texas — A new fund aims to help the doctors, nurses and patients affected by Covid-19 in the Borderland. The new Covid-19 Compassionate Care Fund was created by the University Medical Center Foundation and the El Paso Children’s Hospital Foundation. Click here to donate. Donations will: Provide basic supplies, like food, clothing, medical
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas — For the sixth day in a row, El Paso County saw a double-digit increase in the number of new coronavirus infections, with 26 additional cases on Sunday for a total to date of 531. The death toll was unchanged at eight, officials said. There were 29 El Pasoans hospitalized on Sunday
Continue Reading
EL PASO, Texas — As Texas took its first steps Sunday toward reopening — starting with state parks — caveats in the plan popped up in the massive state’s far western corner, where the spread of coronavirus is showing no signs of slowing. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department opened online reservations for day passes, tours
Continue Reading
EL PASO, Texas — Many El Paso hospitals are choosing to reassign their employees instead of laying them off after non-essential medical services were canceled to prevent the spread of Covid-19. To the north, Memorial and Mountview medical centers in Las Cruces announced furloughs for nearly 200 employees. El Paso hospitals have take another route
Continue Reading
LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — A Las Cruces physical therapy group owner is looking out for essential workers on the front lines of this crisis. “The firefighters, the nurses, the policemen, just the city workers, everyone,” said Denise Campbell, the owner of FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Centers. “They’re taking care of us. We wanted to give
Continue Reading
EL PASO, Texas — Officers with Customs and Border Protection seized a large number of hand sanitizer bottles and masks at the Bridge of the Americas, according to a news release. According to the agency, a U.S. citizen crossing declared a personal use quantity of hand sanitizer, but officers found 2,205 unlabeled bottles and 1,000
Continue Reading
LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — Essential workers in Las Cruces can get screened for the coronavirus during a drive-up screening event. The New Mexico Department of Health will conduct drive-up screening at the Las Cruces Public Health Office, 1170 N. Solano, from 8 a.m. to noon on Sunday, or until test supplies run out. The
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas — El Paso County’s death toll from the coronavirus rose to eight as health officials reported a new death Saturday evening. “We send our sincere condolences to the loved ones of our latest Covid-19 victim,” said City/County Health Authority Dr. Hector Ocaranza, who identified the latest victim as man in his 70s who had underlying health issues.
Continue Reading
SOCORRO, Texas — Socorro’s mayor has signed an executive order that mandates face coverings, effective Monday, for all people who leave their homes and are out in public in the city in an effort to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Of El Paso County’s nearly 500 confirmed virus cases, about 20 of those have
Continue Reading
AUSTIN, Texas — As Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott formulated a plan this week to reopen the world’s 10th largest economy, he had to strike a delicate balance between two opposing forces: a push from the state’s powerful business community eager to get back to work and health professionals and economists warning that a premature restart
Continue Reading
EL PASO, Texas — As concerns over the lack of testing grow, Covid-19 saliva test kits are now slowly being administered in El Paso. The Food and Drug Administration has authorized private laboratories to provide the kits, including MicroGen Diagnostics, a molecular diagnostics lab out of Orlando, Florida. “Early on we looked at the validating
Continue Reading
EL PASO, Texas — El Paso public health leaders reported 31 new coronavirus cases on Friday night, bringing the county’s total closer to 500. While the number of infections rose to 482, the death toll remained at seven. There were now 38 people hospitalized due to the virus, with 11 of those patients currently in intensive care and seven
Continue Reading
EL PASO, Texas — A 70-year-old man is the definition of staying strong and he’s sure to put a smile on your face. He just became one of El Paso’s 63 recoveries from the coronavirus. Officials at Del Sol Medical Center say he was in the hospital for four days due to Covid-19, and was
Continue Reading
In South Korea, health officials are trying to solve a mystery: why 163 people who recovered from coronavirus have retested positive, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). The same has been recorded in China, where some coronavirus patients tested positive after seeming to recover, although there are no official figures.
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday had announced that most Texas state parks would re-open to the public next week as part of an initial step to get Texas up and running gain amid the coronavirus pandemic. However, the governor’s order does NOT apply to the state parks in El Paso County, most notably
Continue Reading