El Paso County Judge’s holiday curfew order now in effect nightly from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

EL PASO, Texas -- El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego's Christmastime curfew order aimed at reducing the spread of the coronavirus was set to take effect Wednesday evening.

That curfew will run nightly from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. through Dec. 26.

The curfew will take effect again for the New Year's holiday period from Dec. 30 to Jan. 4.

El Pasoans going to work, to the store for essential items or to seek medical care will be exempt from the curfew, which primarily targets social gatherings. Also exempt from the curfew order will be those attending Christmas Eve mass at Catholic churches.

"We're going to be extremely focused on bad actors," the judge said of curfew enforcement plans.

The new holiday curfews are similar to one the judge imposed during the Thanksgiving period, which Samaniego thinks was effective.

Following Thanksgiving, El Paso did not experience the type of spike it had seen in virus cases after holidays over the summer. The judge said he believed the Thanksgiving curfew played a role in avoiding a post-holiday virus surge.

Below you can read the judge's curfew order that was issued earlier this month.