MCALLEN, Texas—Hidalgo County will begin a curfew on Monday night in response to the novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) that orders all residents except essential personnel to be indoors between 10pm and 5am local time. The order is set to lift late April 5. Neighboring Cameron County recently issued a similar curfew.
On Sunday evening, Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez signed an emergency order that prohibits any individuals not taking part in essential duties to stay at home. Violations of said order carry a fine of up to $1,000 or up to 180 days in jail. The order is set to go into effect on Monday night.
In addition to the curfew, Cortez also issued a series of county orders removing various fees and service charges for county procedures and limiting county activities to only those essential in nature.
Cortez also called for businesses to not engage in price gouging, which some residents claim is occurring in local stores. The Texas Attorney General’s Office established a process to report price gouging and promises prosecutions where necessary.
The curfew comes days after neighboring Cameron County issued a similar curfew. Hidalgo County has two confirmed cases, while Cameron holds six. Immediately south of the border, Reynosa and Matamoros have one case each.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.