During a live-streamed Q&A session via Facebook this afternoon, Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez discussed extending the emergency order to shelter at home and requiring county residents to wear masks in public.
“No doubt that I’m going to ask the Commissioner’s court to extend the [emergency] order past the 10th,” Cortez said. “This will be consistent with what the President wants to do, what the governor has done, and for sure, I know that our battle with this decision is going to extend even beyond April 30.”
Asked if Hidalgo County is looking into changing or modifying the current emergency order, Cortez replied, yes, and that the county has been receiving complaints on what is essential and non-essential.
“In order for us to have order in all 22 cities and along our rural areas in the county, I think we need to have a uniform order and uniform law, then take all those things into consideration,” he said. “We’re working on changing the language in order to be more specific.”
The City of Laredo recently passed an order requiring residents to wear a mask when they are in public. Cortez said he has spoken with the mayor of Laredo about considering the requirement of residents wearing masks in public.
“That’s something that we’re considering and I’ve discussed it with the 22 mayors,” Cortez said. “We have a conference call everyday with mayors and alerted them that this is something that we’re thinking, and I think very, very soon we’ll make a decision.”
Today, the City of Edinburg signed an order requiring residents three years and older must wear some form of covering over their nose and mouth when out in public. The order goes into effect Monday at 5 a.m.
Cortez also gave an update on the current status of testing in Hidalgo County. He said as of yesterday, a total 635 tests have been administered with 108 tests coming from the Hidalgo County healthcare department and 527 coming from private labs or physicians. Seventy-nine tests were positive, 410 tests were negative and 146 tests were still pending results. Seven individuals are in the hospital, of which four are in ICU. Cortez said they all seem to be recovering.
He also added that UTRGV has started to provide testing, which tested 178 people yesterday, with five coming back positive. These numbers are not included in the Hidalgo County numbers.
The Hidalgo County Commissioners Court will meet from 10 a.m. to noon April 7 to discuss the extension of the emergency order and requiring Hidalgo County residents to wear masks.
