It’s too risky. Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez has decided it is premature to allow bars and nightclubs in the county to reopen.
Cortez made the call after consulting with county health officials, local health care experts, and local mayors who pointed to CDC guidelines which categorize bars as high-risk venues for spreading the coronavirus. Cortez says reopening bars now would likely reverse the strides that have been made in reducing the spread.
And although the numbers of new COVID-19 cases and daily deaths are down from this summer, he says they remain unacceptably high. Cortez says he’ll assess the impact other business reopening measures are having on the county before deciding whether to allow bars to reopen their doors.