El Paso (AP) – Officials in El Paso say tighter virus restrictions will be put in place there in an effort to stop a surge in newly reported COVID-19 cases. El Paso County is the first major county in Texas to scale back since Governor Greg Abbott loosened rules in September. Visitors to facilities that care for the elderly will not be allowed, and businesses not considered essential must cut back to 50% capacity. The new restrictions start Friday. Abbott has dispatched extra medical personnel and personal protective equipment to El Paso, and said the state will help slow the spread as it did in the Rio Grande Valley during the summer, when local officials pleaded for nearly a month for a field hospital.
