La Feria, Cameron County make face coverings mandatory

Updated: April 23, 2020

By NELDA BRIONES
LFN

On Wednesday, April 8, La Feria Mayor Olga Maldonado issued an order that some form of face covering must be used by everyone while in public or commercial settings such as inside any buildings, walking through business parking lots, when pumping gas, in all public settings and by employees of essential businesses.

The order came shortly after the Centers for Disease Control urged and recommended the use of face coverings as an additional preventative measure to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The CDC recommended people try to make cloth face coverings using bandanas, ski masks, washable napkins or dish towels. The cloth covering should reach above the nose, fall below the chin and completely cover the mouth and nostrils. It also needs to be made up of multiple layers of fabric but should still allow wearers to breathe comfortably.

La Feria actually beat Cameron County to the punch as on April 9, Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino Jr. made wearing face coverings in public mandatory throughout the county. The new edict officially went into effect on Monday, April 13.

This new rule came after Trevino had initially just “strongly recommended” the use of face masks after Cameron County extended its shelter-in-place rule to at least April 21. Cameron County is now in line with Hidalgo and Willacy counties, which had also toughened their shelter-in-place rules.

In addition, Cameron County also tightened its social distancing guidelines and deemed essential travel be limited to no more than two individuals per vehicle, and no one under 14 years of age may accompany parents or guardians in the vehicle until further notice.

“Such orders are issued to protect the lives of all during this pandemic,” Trevino said during his April 9 news release.

As of April 14, Cameron County had reported a total of 239 positive cases of COVID-19. Out of the 239 cases, however, 73 had recovered. Furthermore, of the 239, at leat 95 of those cases directly involved either staff, relatives or residents of Veranda and Windsor Atrium nursing homes. In addition, all three deaths so far in the country were all residents of these facilities.

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