Mayor says El Paso ‘dodged bullet’ for virus over Thanksgiving, but officials worry about Christmas

EL PASO, Texas -- In a briefing at City Hall on Thursday afternoon, Mayor Dee Margo offered his "compliments to the citizens of El Paso," proclaiming "we dodged a bullet" with no post-Thanksgiving spike in coronavirus cases.

But Margo warned that headed into the Christmas and New Year's holidays is "not the time to let our guard down."

His remarks came as El Paso's virus death toll continues to rise, but hospitalizations have stabilized at lower levels and active cases are currently trending downward.

Because of declining case counts, the city is now allowing restaurants to stay open an extra hour later until 10 p.m.

Out of concern for potential virus spread that could occur over the upcoming holidays, County Judge Ricardo Samaniego is imposing a nightly curfew for the Christmas and New Year's periods.

At Thursday's briefing, an El Paso police official indicated that the department "will take the appropriate action accordingly" to enforce the curfew order.

The briefing also addressed the latest on virus vaccine distribution in the El Paso area. Earlier Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott said Texans can expect to see “widespread distribution” of Covid-19 vaccines by March to recipients beyond the front-line health care workers who are currently receiving them.

El Paso health department director Angela Mora said that her agency is coordinating with roughly 200 local providers to handle vaccinations when sufficient doses become available. She said the health department would be hosting virtual public meetings to provide more information about Texas' distribution plans.

You can watch the entire news conference in the video player below.