The second part of the holiday curfew begins tonight, December 30th and lasts until January 4th. The El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego implemented the curfew for the holiday season in an effort to curb social gatherings for the holidays. Curfew begins at 10 P.M. and runs until 5 A.M.

El Pasoans going to work, to the store for essential items or to seek medical care will be exempt from the curfew, which primarily targets social gatherings. Included in this curfew order, restaurants with dine-in services that also include outdoor services such as on a patio or similar seating area will be required to close dine-in options at 10 P.M., however they may continue to operate with take out or drive thru orders beyond 10 P.M. Previously, restaurants needed to close at 9 p.m. According to judge Samaniego, the Sheriff's department will be enforcing curfew.

Since we are seeing a decrease in positive cases, Samaniego attributes the drop to the lockdown, however, he also believes that many El Pasoan's are not getting tested and urged the community to continue getting tested. Despite vaccinations already being distributed in El Paso and across the country, Dr. Anthony Fauci says we're still behind on distribution. Dr. Fauci also warned Americans not to let their guard down; we may be facing a “critical time” and the next potential surge over the holidays could lead to a dark January according to an interview with CNN.

So, while the numbers may be going down, be smart this holiday season, El Paso. Continue to wear a mask, wash your hands, don't gather, and try to stay at home as much as you can until this is over. Again, that curfew starts tonight from 10 P.M. to 5 A.M. and will continue until January 4th.

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