Alejandra Yañez | THE RIDER
Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño Jr. says Halloween door-to-door trick-or-treating will be canceled this year due to the risk of spreading COVID-19 and encourages parents to find safe, alternative ways to celebrate with children.
Treviño made the announcement during a news conference last Friday.
“Cameron County is not going to authorize any Halloween activities,” Treviño said. “We’ve seen what happens when people get together. … Halloween would be another potential way to spread that.”
He said the risk comes when people mix with other families and neighbors and encourages the public to celebrate at home this year with immediate family.
Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez signed an emergency order last Friday forbidding door-to-door trick-or-treating this year.
Cameron County has reported an additional 138 COVID-19 cases, raising the total number to 23,312 as of last Friday morning.
Two additional deaths have also been reported, raising the total to 1,044.
The judge was happy to announce that Cameron County has slowly been dropping its daily average of COVID-19 cases.
“Things are a little better but we are nowhere near the end of the fight with [COVID-19],” Treviño said.
Dr. James Castillo, the health authority for Cameron County, said the county is averaging about 37 new cases per day.
“I think we’ve reached this plateau, this steady state, and that means that the virus is not gone and if we relax our precautions at this point you can expect the virus to spring back,” Castillo said.
He encourages the public to continue to take the virus seriously and implement precautions in their everyday life, such as wearing a facial covering, avoiding crowds and washing hands regularly.
Castillo reminded the public that the second wave is preventable if people continue to abide by the guidelines and remember that no one is immune to this virus, not even those infected before.
“This virus continues to show us that it will take people’s lives,” Treviño said.
He said the virus does not care about status and said the White House being a recent hot spot is a perfect example of this.
“Those are examples of what can happen if you don’t follow the guidelines of health professionals,” Treviño said. “If it can happen at the White House, it can happen anywhere.”
Esmeralda Guajardo, the health administrator for Cameron County, said her office received “a data dump” from the state health department of 782 old cases from April through July.
Of those cases, 111 have not been reported by Cameron County and are currently under investigation.
Due to this, the public can expect to see an increase in cases within the next week.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed an executive order last Thursday to reopen the Rio Grande Valley’s restaurants to 75% capacity.
“If you’re going to support these businesses, that’s great, but they need to be following guidelines,” Treviño said.
The judge said restaurants are considered essential, and because the governor relinquished power to local governments to decide if they will reopen bars, Treviño is leaning toward deciding not to. His final decision will be announced on Wednesday.
Early voting for the 2020 presidential election begins Tuesday and Treviño encourages voters to visit the curbside supercenters at the Brownsville Event Center.
“Have your voice heard and vote,” he said. “It’s critical.”
