Border crossings between El Paso and Juárez continued to operate normally Friday morning despite an announcement by U.S. and Mexico officials that restrictions would soon be put in place.

Mexico's Foreign Ministry offered guidance on what restrictions on ports of entry will look like. 

Trips that won't be affected by new restrictions: commercial activities, cargo transport, pharmaceutical purchases and emergency services. People who live in Mexico and are authorized to work in the U.S. will be able to cross.

"It's not going to close," said Mexico's Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard in a Friday news conference broadcast from Mexico City, explaining that Mexico spent two days negotiating to keep ports at least partially open. "It might have closed if we hadn't done this work."

"We are exhorting the population to abstain from crossing, to begin with," he said. "Don't take unnecessary trips, for their own health. We are going to try to improve the coordination on health. Because, for example, there are more cases in El Paso than in Juárez."

The U.S. Department of State on Thursday in a statement advised U.S. citizens "to avoid all international travel due to the global impact of COVID-19."

The statement warned U.S. citizens that "if you choose to travel internationally, your travel plans may be severely disrupted, and you may be forced to remain outside of the United States for an indefinite time frame."

This is a developing story.

Lauren Villagran can be reached at lvillagran@elpasotimes.com.