El Paso extends closures as COVID-19 deaths continue to soar

Clarification at 9:50 a.m. on Nov. 12, 2020: Clarifies that the state’s coronavirus count has not passed 1 million as of Tuesday.

EL PASO — County Judge Ricardo Samaniego on Wednesday extended a shutdown of all nonessential businesses until Dec. 1 as COVID-19 deaths soar, setting records and leading to an increase in the number of mobile morgues in the city.

The announcement comes as Samaniego’s original Oct. 29 order was set to expire at midnight Wednesday and as the Texas Supreme Court voted to stay out of an ongoing battle over the legality of El Paso County’s shutdown.

An appeals court is expected to decide by Friday on a request to put a temporary hold on Samaniego’s order.

Ten refrigerated mobile morgues are expected to soon be in operation, though Samaniego warned that more may be needed.

“Every day that the county’s order remains in effect is another day that we can save lives,” Samaniego said, acknowledging his new order will have an impact on the Thanksgiving holiday.

He later added: “Our community should understand better than anyone else what needs to happen at this time.”

By Wednesday, the death toll reached 696 in the county of more than 800,000 people.

El Paso is far from an isolated situation, as COVID-19 rages across the country and state, including in Dallas.

By some counts, Texas became the first state on Tuesday to surpass 1 million cumulative cases since the start of the pandemic. The state’s number had not passed 1 million by that point. Delays and differences in reporting have led to discrepancies in case counts nationwide.

The hospitalization rate in El Paso is over 50% and the positivity rate is at 20.45%. There are currently 29,118 known active cases — also a record.

On Wednesday, Gov. Greg Abbott deployed additional resources to El Paso and Lubbock to help combat COVID-19, including medical personnel, medical equipment, personal protective equipment and mobile testing sites.

“The State of Texas is ensuring that our communities hit the hardest by COVID-19 have the resources and support they need to keep people safe and bring hospitalization rates back down,” said Abbott. “We continue to work closely with local officials in El Paso and Lubbock to meet the needs of each community and mitigate the spread of this virus.”