Officials plea to keep wearing masks

Alejandra Yañez | THE RIDER

Cameron County officials held a news conference Monday to discuss the latest in COVID-19 updates and urge the public to continue to wear masks despite Gov. Greg Abbott’s recent orders. 

“I think the governor’s decision last week, the timing was off because we’re not at the point yet in our fight against COVID that we can relax,” Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño Jr. said. “We don’t want to be sending mixed messages. So, I want to be absolutely crystal clear to the people watching and the people that live in Cameron County and here in the [Rio Grande] Valley, keep wearing your mask. Keep utilizing social distancing, avoid crowds and practice good personal hygiene.”

Treviño said he is hopeful that this week the county will receive doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

“Johnson & Johnson … is only a single dose vaccine, which will make it easier to get into the arms of our local residents,” he said.

Esmeralda Guajardo, the health administrator for Cameron County, said the state has allocated 11,000 vaccines for Cameron County and 4,000 of those are Johnson & Johnson. 

Dr. James Castillo, the health authority for Cameron County, said the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was tested in a much more difficult environment with variants in the picture.  

“It was showing 100% protection against death, remarkably high protection against being put in the hospital, 70, 80% protection against getting severe disease,” Castillo said. “And also, they were showing that it protects against being contagious if you do get COVID, 75% reduction against being contagious.” 

The health authority said he supports the vaccine and urges the public to continue to wear masks and practice social distancing since the county is “nowhere near herd immunity.” 

“It’s still not safe yet,” Castillo said. “When the governor changed the mask mandate, I got a lot of calls from business owners taking this as a sign that things are safe, that things have changed and it’s safe now. It’s not safe now.”

The health authority warned the public of the possibilities that could arise if residents do not continue to wear masks.

“If we were to abandon masks or abandon all of those precautions we’ve been taking, you can see in Texas an extra 50 to 100 deaths per day throughout the whole summer than what we would have seen trickle off to single digits by July,” Castillo said. “So, to me, that means don’t abandon masks. It’s been working.”

Guajardo became emotional during the conference and said she is grateful for her team and is fearful of what is to come with the lift of the mask mandate.

“I plead to the community, wear your mask,” she said. “You know, I don’t even have words about how serious this is and now that Spring Break is coming up and Easter, I have no idea what that’s gonna do. I’m scared and I, too, have lost close people due to COVID and I’m sure all of y’all have. 

“And let’s not forget that had it not been for COVID, they would still be here with us, but we lost them. So, again, wear your mask. If you’re sick, get tested. We’re seeing such a small number of reports coming in now that it kind of worries me because people are probably not getting tested and that’s not good. So, if you have symptoms, seek treatment and get tested.”

Guajardo said second-dose clinics are at a 10% no-show rate and urges the public to complete their second dosage.

Treviño pleaded with the public throughout the news conference to wear their masks.

“Keep wearing your masks,” he said. “Lives are at stake.”

Treviño said he would like to mandate the mask order but cannot go against the governor.

He said 95% of emails and messages he received from the public “are from individuals saying to keep ordering the mask mandate.” 

“I would like to, I really, really would but ordering it, unfortunately, would run afoul of the governor’s order and, therefore, would lead to litigation,” Treviño said.

The county judge said he knows that he can trust the people of Cameron County to continue to be responsible.

“Time and time again, the pandemic, which we had never faced in 100 years, has become a political issue,” Treviño said. “And because of that, people’s lives have been lost over senseless political debate as opposed to focusing on public health safety, guidelines, recommendations and instruction.” 

The county judge reminded the public that Spring Break begins this weekend and pleads with the younger population to be responsible, so as to not repeat the history of last year’s Spring Break surge.

“We’re just so close to the finish line here that it would be a shame to see another wave that was completely avoidable,” Castillo said.

Throughout the conference the validation of continuing to wear masks was a unanimous theme voiced by all the authorities present. 

Manny Vela, the chief executive officer of Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen, said the public must use its history to plan for the future. 

“I’ve heard the argument that you can trust people to do what’s right, but if you just look at the history of this last year, unfortunately, there are instances where we begged to follow our best practices because that’s the best way to ensure their well-being, their family’s well-being, the community’s well-being and the well-being of our health-care workers,” Vela said. “But, historically, we have seen what happens when we do let our guards down and people aren’t as diligent and determined as they can be.”

He said the containment of the virus is the responsibility of every individual.

Art Garza, CEO of Valley Regional Medical Center, said the numbers of COVID-19 patients in the hospitals are decreasing. 

“If you’re one of those folks that has still not received your vaccine, be patient,” Garza said. “Your time will come when the opportunity presents itself and [when] you meet criteria, please take advantage.”

For people who experienced damage due to the winter storm, Treviño directed residents to the Cameron County website for information on how to make a claim to the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the Small Business Administration if they do not have insurance.

COVID-19 testing continues from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Sunday at the Brownsville Sports Park and at the Harlingen Sports Complex. No appointment is needed. 

The county is also hosting a testing site from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Friday at the Cameron Park Community Center. 

Treviño encourages the public to call the county’s coronavirus hotline, (956) 247-3650, to receive guidance on anything COVID-19 related.