Memorial Day in El Paso sees pandemic change from last year
EL PASO, Texas -- It's the unofficial start to summer Monday as people gather to honor soldiers on Memorial Day and things are looking different in the Borderland from a year ago, when people were still adjusting to life in a pandemic.
One big difference that can be seen is the Covid-19 data. A year ago on this holiday in 2020, El Paso health officials reported 78 new coronavirus deaths. That number on Memorial Day in 2021 sits at zero.
Here's a look at some other differences in the data:
| May 25, 2020 | May 31, 2021 |
| New cases: 36 | New cases: 20 |
| Active cases: 1,051 | Active cases: 911 |
| Hospitalized: 112 | Hospitalized: 74 |
A year ago on Memorial Day, El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego closed Ascarate Park because of fears of a spike in Covid numbers due to the holiday weekend.
"It's really difficult to be able to understand the numbers. We have peaks that are attributed to external -- or the fact that the community didn't respond accordingly," Samaniego said at the time.
This year on Memorial Day, Ascarate Park is now open to the public.
