EL PASO (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday joined several El Paso County restaurant owners in suing to block a county order shutting down all non-essential activities for two weeks.
The suit, filed in state court in El Paso, comes a day after County Judge Ricardo Samaniego ordered the shutdown amid a skyrocketing number of COVID-19 cases he said was “overwhelming” the county’s medical resources.
In-person dining was among the non-essential activities Samaniego's order targeted. The order also closed bars, gyms, tattoo parlors and nail and hair salons, and directed residents to shelter in place except for essential tasks. Grocery and drug stores, funeral homes, health care services and government activities were among activities deemed essential, as were all election-related activities.
