Large gatherings are prohibited by COVID 19 safety guidelines but, apparently, Mayor Margo has been issuing special permits for such gatherings frequently.

Mayor Dee Margo is coming under a little fire these days for allowing large gatherings to take place, despite the city ordinance which prohibits them. The city of El Paso, by order of Texas Governor Greg Abbott, must look at all gatherings of 10 or more people. If Mayor Margo feels the gathering warrants a special permit, he can issue one and he has apparently been approving permits for things like weddings, graduations, and fundraisers pretty regularly. According to our news partners at KVIA, out of 39 permit requests received, Mayor Margo and the city have approved all but 2. One of those was for a 4th of July parade, which parade organizers appealed and ultimately received.

The Mayor said if these event organizers follow all the safety protocols, he doesn't see a problem with them.

"Well, if people are not following the health protocols, yes, it's a big concern," he replied. "And yeah, that would be an area for spread if they're not wearing face coverings, if they're not maintaining distancing, if they're not washing and if they're not doing temperature checks.

"Most (event organizers) are realizing that there is a vulnerable population out there," Margo added.  - KVIA

Mayor Margo also added that the City-County Health Authority, Dr. Hector Ocaranza, must sign off on these as well and that they are trusting the event organizers to follow all the necessary safety guidelines with regard to the total number of attendees, social distancing, etc.

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