The number of positive COVID-19 tests is growing rapidly in El Paso as more people are being tested. These numbers almost certainly understate the actual spread of COVID-19 in El Paso because testing has been limited. The numbers include only tests conducted by the El Paso Public Health Department. Fort Bliss, New Mexico and Chihuahua […]
El Paso has begun showing general location of COVID-19 positive tests
In releasing new data showing 40 positive COVID-19 tests on Sunday, the city also provided its first map of where people who have tested positive live. This is more detail than many communities have provided. El Paso health authorities provided other demographic breakdowns of COVID-19 positive tests. Positive tests by age group Positive tests by […]
‘Stricter measures’ promised as El Paso confirms community spread of COVID-19
El Paso Mayor Dee Margo pledged unspecified additional steps Sunday night as public health officials confirmed community spread of COVID-19. “Now that community spread is confirmed, I strongly urge everyone to adhere to the Stay Home order we implemented last week. I will be working with Dr. (Hector) Ocaranza and the county judge, to revise […]
El Paso rideshare drivers struggle during coronavirus pandemic
El Paso area rideshare drivers say they have minimal guidance when it comes to protecting themselves against the spread of the novel coronavirus. Many have developed their own systems for trying to keep their vehicles safe. Carlos Calderon, 77, has been an Uber driver for two-and-a-half years. Calderon starts his driving shift at the cell […]
El Paso health official warns of possible coronavirus exposure at Conference USA basketball tournament in Frisco
El Paso health officials and their North Texas colleagues have shared information about possible coronavirus exposure during the Conference USA basketball tournaments in Frisco earlier this month. The men’s and women’s basketball teams played in the tournament before it was cancelled March 12 as the coronavirus pandemic spread across the country. Three male University of […]
El Paso gun stores reopen after Texas attorney general opinion
By Stacy Fernández/Texas Tribune El Paso gun stores re-opened Friday within hours of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s nonbinding opinion that cities and counties couldn’t order them closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Several El Paso stores selling guns and ammunition said by phone that they were open Friday, including Cabelas, one of the […]
Feeling sick? Use this self-assessment to see if you should seek care or stay home
If you have a cough, fever, or shortness of breath, how can you tell if you’ve got COVID-19, a common cold, the ordinary flu, or a bad case of worry? Should you get tested? When should you seek medical care — and when should you stay home? The USC Gehr Family Center for Health Systems Science […]
Facebook grant expands coronavirus news coverage in El Paso. We also need to hear from you
El Paso Matters is among the first 50 news organizations in the U.S. and Canada to receive an emergency grant to help with local reporting on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The $5,000 grant is from the Facebook Journalism Project, The Lenfest Institute for Journalism and the Local Media Association. We are using the […]
El Paso, Juárez take differing approaches to coronavirus threat
CIUDAD JUAREZ — Health authorities in El Paso and Ciudad Juárez pride themselves on working together as a region on a range of public health issues that span the border. But the response to the COVID-19 threat has exposed differences in the approach of the U.S. and Mexico in trying to slow the spread of […]
House leader criticizes Trump administration investigations into deaths of migrant children
Government watchdogs failed to conduct thorough investigations into the deaths of two migrant children in the El Paso area in 2018 and gave a false cause of death in its public report on one of the children, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee said Thursday. “While the Border Patrol agents who cared for […]
El Paso’s unemployment claims skyrocket with coronavirus closures, reductions
UPDATE: An additional 6,116 new unemployment claims were filed the week ending March 27, bringing the two-week total to almost 10,000. In the two weeks prior, just over 600 initial unemployment claims were filed. The number of El Pasoans filing for unemployment jumped tenfold last week as businesses began to close or scale back operations […]
You Just Panic-Bought a Gun. Here’s How to Handle It Safely.
By Alain Stephens/The Trace You did it. You just joined the ranks of the millions of Americans who own a gun. I’ve had years of experience handling firearms — as part of my work in the military and law enforcement, recreationally, and for home defense. For many people, however, the novel coronavirus has been the catalyst […]
El Paso issues ‘Stay Home, Work Safe’ order, closing non-essential businesses and keeping people at home
Beginning Wednesday, El Pasoans will be under orders to stay home and nonessential businesses must close their doors, the latest and most extreme measure yet taken to slow the spread of coronavirus. The new order — which is called “Stay Home, Work Safe” — will further disrupt El Paso’s economy, where new unemployment claims have […]
El Paso’s YWCA is caring for first responders’ children while facing its own financial crisis. How coronavirus is hammering nonprofits.
Medical professionals and first responders are relying on the YWCA of El Paso for child-care services while they respond to the coronavirus pandemic. But the agency’s CEO worries how long that can continue as the YWCA Paso del Norte Region faces its own unprecedented financial crisis. “We have an amazing team and they are committed […]
El Paso hospitals prohibit visitors, with limited exceptions
El Paso’s major hospitals are prohibiting visitors effective Monday as part of the growing effort to slow the spread of coronavirus. The county’s three major systems — The Hospitals of Providence, Las Palmas Del Sol Healthcare, El Paso Children’s Hospital and University Medical Center — announced the change in a rare joint statement. “While we […]
How to spot coronavirus fake news – an expert guide
By Samantha Vanderslott, University of Oxford The proliferation of fake news about the COVID-19 pandemic has been labelled a dangerous “infodemic”. Fake news spreads faster and more easily today through the internet, social media and instant messaging. These messages may contain useless, incorrect or even harmful information and advice, which can hamper the public health […]
Free bus rides and greater restrictions on border crossings. Here’s what’s new in El Paso’s coronavirus response.
El Paso’s Department of Public Health has implemented new restrictions effective Saturday in line with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order earlier in the week. The United States and Mexico limited who will be allowed to cross borders. The city also has waived fares on Sun Metro transit vehicles. Here’s an update on how life […]
Texas restaurants are asking for tax relief from the state. But officials say they need those revenues during the pandemic.
By Mitchell Ferman and Ross Ramsey/Texas Tribune HOUSTON — Up against a Friday deadline, the broad base of workers in the Texas restaurant industry have asked Gov. Greg Abbott and other officials to waive monthly sales taxes due by the end of the day. Bobby Heugel, owner of several popular bars and restaurants in Houston, said many […]
Coronavirus could overwhelm El Paso area hospitals if not slowed, Harvard projections show
Local, state and federal officials have taken unprecedented steps to control the spread of coronavirus. School and churches are closed. Restaurants can only serve to-go meals and bars are shuttered. “Social distancing” has become a part of our lexicon. These are all steps to “flatten the curve” of coronavirus cases, meaning to avoid sharp increases […]
New El Paso coronavirus restrictions that workers, business owners and parents need to know
The El Paso Department of Public Health issued a series of new orders this week that will alter much of day-to-day life during the coronavirus pandemic. Most of the attention has been on the impacts on bars or restaurants, but many other establishments are affected. How workplaces must change Businesses must have staff work remotely […]
Here’s what you can do if you’ve lost your El Paso job because of coronavirus
Tens of thousands of El Pasoans are likely to lose their jobs in the coming weeks as businesses close or drastically scale back because of the coronavirus pandemic. State and regional workforce offices are offering quicker unemployment benefits and trying to place some people in new jobs. What to know about filing for unemployment “As […]
Social distancing is key to slowing coronavirus. That’s a shock to border culture
The Trejo family has been careful about handwashing and using hand-sanitizer to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, but when it came time to part ways near the Paso del Norte international bridge, they hugged each other. “As we were hugging, I thought, ‘Oh no, we should have given each other a little elbow tap,’” […]
El Paso City Council orders bar closures, restaurant restrictions to fight coronavirus
The El Paso City Council ordered bars closed and placed strict limits on restaurant operations, part of ongoing responses to the coronavirus that have suspended normal life. Health officials said they were worried about St. Patrick’s Day celebrations planned hours later, though the order later posted by health officials said the closure requirement takes effect […]
Migrants brought from Mexico to El Paso court hearings, despite coronavirus objections
EL PASO – Despite opposition from judges, government attorneys and immigration lawyers, 31 migrants were brought from Mexico on Monday for court hearings in El Paso, a city with two presumptive coronavirus cases. The migrants, including about a dozen children, were wearing face masks as they walked from vans into the immigration court building Monday […]
El Paso allowing restaurants, bars to continue operations during coronavirus pandemic
Restaurants and bars are an increasing focal point in efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus, with some cities and states ordering closures or other limits. But El Paso officials Sunday said it was still OK for people to go out for food and beverages, though they urged caution. “We don’t have big restaurants where […]
Freed hunger striker describes the past four months in ICE custody as “torture”
An asylum seeker who went on a 110-day hunger strike to force his freedom describes his recent months in an El Paso immigration detention center as repeated torture. “When they force-fed me they tortured me a lot. They come to me and they tell me, we’ll send you back to your country, you can’t stay […]
El Paso’s food bank is scrambling to feed hundreds of seniors during the coronavirus emergency. You can help
The city of El Paso has temporarily closed its senior centers to protect the population most at risk from the coronavirus. But the move has cut off about 900 senior citizens from their regular weekday lunches. The community’s food bank, El Pasoans Fighting Hunger, is moving to quickly fill the nutrition void by assembling food […]
El Paso schools offering free breakfast, lunch to children during extended closings
El Paso school children are on spring break this week. The city’s Department of Public Health has ordered that no children be allowed to return to school until at least April 6. Children and school employees who have traveled outside the El Paso region will not be allowed in school until 14 days after their […]
El Paso primary voters were older this year than in 2016
El Paso primary election voters were older this year than in the last presidential primaries four years ago, an El Paso Matters analysis of county voting records shows. The median age of El Paso voters this year (meaning half were older and half were younger) was 58 years old, up from 56 years old in […]
ICE will free an asylum seeker it has force-fed for 3 months in El Paso
An asylum seeker from Nepal who has been force-fed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in El Paso for more than three months could be released from custody this week, his attorneys said. The asylum seeker, a 22-year-old man who asked to be identified only by the initials KC because his political opponents in Nepal want […]