Curfew lifted for Cameron County

Alejandra Yañez | THE RIDER

Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño Jr. has lifted a curfew that has been in effect since June to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

“My intention was to suspend the curfew, but coming in here [Health Administrator] Esmer [Guajardo] told me about the 95 cases,” Treviño said in a news conference last Friday before announcing that he would lift the curfew.

He said, if necessary, the county is prepared to reimplement the curfew. 

“I may be wrong, but like I said we can implement it immediately,” Treviño said.

Although the curfew has been lifted, the judge made it clear that bars are still expected to close at 11 p.m.

“If it allows a little bit of the stress level to go down, not having that worry … chances are if it’s late at night there’s alcohol involved and that’s when people let their guard down,” Treviño said. 

With the Thanksgiving holiday approaching, the judge asks that people continue to abide by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

“Our goal should be that all of us should be able to get together and be thankful the way we used to next year,” Treviño said. 

Dr. James Castillo, the health authority for Cameron County, said that ventilation is important to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“Small indoor gatherings is what is superspreading the virus,” Castillo said in an effort to urge people to not host Thanksgiving dinners this year. “I know people are getting fatigued and tired of this, but the potential is still there for transmission.”

In regard to a vaccine, he said, “There’s some really promising results coming out.”

Guajardo said the county is looking into distributing the Pfizer vaccine for people ages 12 and older. 

She said only 60 providers have been approved so far in Cameron County to distribute the vaccine.

The Pfizer vaccine must be stored in below-freezing temperatures and, due to this, the county will not be setting up pop-up sites, according to Guajardo.

Castillo said it takes a month from the first injection to become immune to the virus.

“It won’t be here for Thanksgiving or Christmas, so we need to hold on,” he said.

Due to the recent COVID-19 spike in El Paso, Treviño said the health-care workers that were brought to the Rio Grande Valley to help are now gone. 

“I hate to say it but we’re on our own now,” he said. 

Treviño stressed the importance of considering health-care workers even though Cameron County is no longer a hot spot for the disease and other regions now need more attention.

“The reality is there are finite resources,” he said. “There are only so many doctors and hospital rooms. … We need to do our part to help our doctors help us.”

 Treviño said in the case of a second wave, the decisions that will have to be made by health-care professionals will be drastic. He compared it to a warlike situation in which doctors have to treat the most sick first.

COVID-19 testing is still available through UTRGV and the City of Brownsville by appointment. 

Treviño said many doctors and physicians now provide COVID-19 testing, which has allowed for more accurate numbers due to the timely manner in which the offices report.

Guajardo said 85% of the cases reported on a daily basis occur within the last five days, which is a big improvement. 

“If you’ve recovered, please consider donating plasma,” Castillo said, urging people who have recovered to donate so that their antibodies can help high-risk patients create a better line of defense against COVID-19.