Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez announced Tuesday that he will not allow local bars, which have been closed since June because of concerns about COVID-19, to reopen this week under guidelines announced by Gov. Greg Abbott.

“I am convinced that reopening bars this week – as Governor Greg Abbott is allowing with local consent – is too risky,” Cortez said in a news release. “We are making great strides in convincing more and more people to change their habits by wearing facial coverings and avoiding crowds. This is having a positive effect on slowing down the rate of infection locally.”

Cortez said he would wait until the effects of other reopening measures were clearer before allowing bars to reopen.

“We continue to see double digit increases in our daily death count and triple digit increases in new positive cases,” Cortez said in the statement. “We must bring these numbers down.”