EDINBURG – Hidalgo County businesses must reduce their operations to 50 percent capacity from 75 percent and Hidalgo County hospitals must hold off on elective surgical procedures under a new order issued Friday by Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez. The order comes as Hidalgo County and other parts of the Rio Grande Valley have been re-designated a high hospitalization area because of the number of patients being treated for COVID-19. The order is effective one minute after midnight on Friday, January 8, and shall remain in effect until it is modified or rescinded. Judge Cortez issued the order one day after ...