BROADCASTS.com

b'

HARLINGEN, Texas - Immediately following a news conference hosted by Harlingen Mayor Chris Boswell, Valley Baptist Health System CEO Manny Vela asked for forgiveness for being so impassioned.

In his remarks from the podium, Vela had made an impassioned plea for Cameron County residents to adhere to best practices in the fight to stem the surge of COVID-19. He noted that hospitalizations for the virus had quadrupled at Valley Baptist-Harlingen over the past eight weeks.\\xa0

\\u201cForgive me, I get a little impassioned. This is the reality. We are seeing our numbers quadruple for COVID patients at Valley Baptist Harlingen over the last eight weeks. I think that holds true for most hospitals in the county,\\u201d Vela said, in an interview with the Rio Grande Guardian.

Vela said he had two messages to give to the community.

\\u201cOne, thanking everybody in our community who has helped us by following the best practices. It got us to the position of being manageable for our COVID numbers. Unfortunately we have had Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year\\u2019s. We have seen our numbers escalate. So, the first part of the message is thank everybody. We just need you to keep toeing the line with us.\\u201d

The second message was aimed at those who have not been wearing masks, not washing their hands regularly, and not practiced social distancing.

\\u201cThe second part of my message is for that small part of our community who are simply not following the best practices because of ignorance or arrogance or absolute lack of self respect for others. They have got to receive this message. It is not too late for them to get on the bandwagon and protect our community.\\u201d

Vela said if the community as a whole will follow best practices, his team of frontline healthcare workers will be better protected from COVID.

Editor's Note: To read the full story, including Manny Vela's thoughts on the COVID-19 vaccine, go to riograndeguardian.com.

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.