LOCKDOWN

El Paso Imposes Curfew as COVID Hospital Cases Jump 300 Percent

Both the county and city will be under a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew enforced by law enforcement agencies for two weeks beginning Sunday night.

An El Paso, Texas, judge imposed a nightly curfew across both county and city Sunday as its hospital and ICU beds reached 100 percent capacity after hospitalized COVID-19 patients increased by 300 percent in the last month. Judge Ricardo Samaniego issued the curfew, which will be upheld by law enforcement agencies between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. for the next two weeks. Anyone who is not considered an essential worker traveling outside their home for the next two weeks will be fined, reports NBC affiliate KTSM 9. Samaniego also said businesses who defy health guidelines face the prospect of being shut down and told school districts to postpone sporting events. Officials also announced Sunday the El Paso Convention Center would be converted into a makeshift hospital in order to deal with the massive surge of COVID-19 patients, with the Department of Health and Human Services sending in federal health personnel to assist in the coming week.