Judge upholds El Paso business restrictions amid virus surge

EL PASO, Texas -- A Texas district judge has upheld temporary business shutdowns in El Paso County as federal military medical teams deployed to the border region to help fight an alarming surge in coronavirus cases.

RELATED: El Paso officials ask residents to stay home for 2 weeks as COVID-19 hospitalizations surge

Judge Bill Moody ruled that restrictions that closed restaurants and other businesses deemed nonessential could stay in place.

In making his decision, Moody said that during the Spanish flu pandemic in the early part of the 20th century, city and county elected officials had authority to respond.

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The attorney general's office plans to appeal.

Meanwhile, three Air Force medical teams are expected to arrive in El Paso by the weekend.

The exponential growth of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in El Paso, Texas, has put Houston medical officials on alert. In the video, they weigh in on the chances El Paso could happen in Houston.

RELATED: Harris County Fire Department paramedic battling COVID-19 in hospital

Texas reported more than 942,000 active COVID-19 cases and 18,589 deaths due to the virus, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

SEE ALSO: Houston prepared to support El Paso in COVID-19 crisis