Earlier today, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced a pending modification to the current public health order, which expires on Friday. As of Saturday, food establishments will be allowed to offer indoor dining at 25% and houses of worship can expand to 40% capacity.
The governor and other officials plan to discuss these and other changes to the health order—along with information about the fall public school semester—at a news conference tomorrow at 3 pm tomorrow, Aug. 27, which will livestream on the governor's Facebook page and air on various local television news stations.
The changes to the public health order follow diminishing COVID-19 case numbers. As SFR reported yesterday, the state's most recent modeling report shows declining daily cases statewide.
Today's numbers, however, represent an increase. Health officials today reported 205 new cases—136 more than yesterday. There have now been 24,732 cases total so far.
Bernalillo County led with new cases: 39 of them, followed by Sandoval County with 28 and Lea County with 27. Santa Fe County had six new cases.
The recent models do indicate increased growth rates in the public health's Metro region, which includes Bernalillo County, and the Northeast region, which includes Santa Fe County. Additionally, the effective rate of transmission—one of the key indicators the state monitors—has risen to 1.0 statewide, still slightly below the gating criteria goal of 1.05 or less, but higher than earlier in the month when it had dropped to 0.82.
The state also announced five additional deaths today from Bernalillo, McKinley and Sandoval counties. There have now been 755 fatalities. As of today, 71 people are hospitalized with COVID-19.* Details on new cases and fatalities is available at the end of this story.
In a news release announcing the pending modified health order, Lujan Grisham acknowledged the progress the state has made, but also issued a warning:
"I know New Mexicans are ecstatic about our recent progress against COVID-19," she said. "But, given what we know about this virus, we must sound a note of caution: Our progress is only as good as our willingness to stay the course."
Some local restaurants intend to do just that. Back Road Pizza owner Piper Kapin, who shifted to a take-out only model throughout the pandemic, intends to stay closed for sit-down dining for now.
"We're going to stay the course with what we're doing and kind of give it a little bit more time," Kapin said.
When asked if 25% indoor dining capacity would be profitable for restaurants, Kapin said for those without the ability to provide patio service or take-out "every little bit helps," but "but I don't think most restaurant options would handle 25% in any way that would make any kind of profit for them."
Second Street Brewery owner Rod Tweet has three properties to consider and says he's gauging the feasibility of indoor dining at the Rufina Taproom, Second Street and Railyard locations.
"There's what the governor's going to allow with her health order, and then there's what makes business sense for us," Tweet says. "We're going to operate within the guidelines, of course, but at this point in this pandemic, like everybody else, I think, we're going to make decisions based on what makes sense for us business-wise, too."
For indoor dining at 25% capacity, "I think we'll probably give that a go at Rufina," he says. "We've got a pretty large space to work with and I think we can do it safely it there. At both the Second Street and Railyard locations, "it's really debatable whether that would make economic sense to run a full operation out of there."
The Second Street location has been offering patio beverage service only and Tweet says he's still evaluating whether it will make sense to reopen the kitchen. Similarly, he says he hopes to open the Railyard location in some capacity next month, but time will tell.
"We've made lots of [tough] decisions," says Tweet, who temporarily closed the Rufina Taproom twice over the summer after employees tested positive and has kept up a rigorous testing and cleaning protocol at his establishments. "We're probably operating at 60% of the staff we'd normally have at this time of the year, but we're making that work. When will we return to previous staffing levels? I don't know the answer to that. We're going into the winter. The season's over. We're not going to have the same number of jobs to give after this. We're a decent-sized employer in Santa Fe. It's a long game situation, we have to make decisions based on remaining viable for the long-term as a business and as an employer."
The governor's announcement of a modified health order came just a few hours before the state Supreme Court heard arguments in a case challenging the state's authority to ban indoor dining in the first place.
The case stems from the governor's July 13 public health order that curtailed indoor dining. Fifth Judicial District Court Judge Raymond L. Romero in Eddy County issued a temporary restraining order against the indoor dining ban, which the state Supreme Court then stayed at the request of the governor's administration. In today's hearing, the governor's legal team asked the court to resolve two issues at the center of the case: whether the Secretary of Health has statutory authority to close businesses when necessary for public health, and whether indoor dining bans are arbitrary, as the parties of interest—several restaurants—assert.
The governor's general counsel, Matthew Garcia, argued today's announcement regarding easing of indoor dining restrictions did not render the case moot, in response to the question from Chief Justice Judith Nakamura.
Garcia said that in addition to not being "totally clear" on the scope of release sought by the interested parties in the case—the New Mexico Restaurant Association and several restaurants across the state—the case had larger implications.
"As I understand the request for injunction, at least part of it seeks to invalidate all of the restrictions against dine-in services at restaurants," he said, "so I do think the case is still ripe for this court's consideration." Moreover, if the state Supreme Court decided lower courts should hear the case "and there's a battle of the experts," Garcia argued "hundreds if not thousands of cases" would end up in district courts, resulting in differing and inconsistent opinions and "effectively invalidating the public health order."
The court did decide the case later this afternoon in the governor's favor, ruling unanimously from the bench that the Legislature has given the state Health Secretary the statutory authority to close businesses for public health reasons.
Further, the decision to temporarily halt indoor dining was not arbitrary and capricious.
"It is well established that differing opinions does not make an action arbitrary and capricious," said Nakamura. "Recently, Chief Justice [John] Roberts pronounced on behalf of the United States Supreme Court that the Constitution entrusts safety and health decisions to the political branches of government, as they have not exceeded the limits of their authority, they cannot be second guessed by the judiciary. "
The court also ordered Judge Romero to vacate the temporary restraining order he had granted the restaurants and to dismiss their application for a restraining order. The court will be issuing a written opinion.
New cases
- 39 new cases in Bernalillo County
- 20 new cases in Chaves County
- 3 new cases in Cibola County
- 6 new cases in Curry County
- 20 new cases in Doña Ana County
- 24 new cases in Eddy County
- 27 new cases in Lea County
- 2 new cases in Luna County
- 4 new cases in McKinley County
- 1 new case in Otero County
- 4 new cases in Rio Arriba County
- 3 new cases in Roosevelt County
- 28 new cases in Sandoval County
- 5 new cases in San Juan County
- 8 new cases in San Miguel County
- 6 new cases in Santa Fe County
- 1 new case in Socorro County
- 4 new cases in Valencia County
New fatalities
- A female in her 80s from Bernalillo County who had underlying conditions and was a resident of the Las Palomas Center in Albuquerque
- A female in her 40s from McKinley County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions
- A male in his 70s from McKinley County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions
- A male in his 70s from Sandoval County who had underlying conditions and was a resident of the Rio Rancho Center in Rio Rancho.
- A male in his 100s from Sandoval County who had underlying conditions and was a resident of the Rio Rancho Center in Rio Rancho
Congregate facilities
The Department of Health has identified at least one positive COVID-19 case in residents and/or staff in the past 28 days at the following facilities:
- Adobe Assisted Living in Las Cruces
- Advantage Assisted Living in Rio Rancho
- Albuquerque Heights Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center
- Artesia Healthcare and Rehabilitation in Artesia
- Atria Vista del Rio in Albuquerque
- Bear Canyon Rehabilitation Center in Albuquerque
- Belen Meadows Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Belen
- Bloomfield Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Bloomfield
- Brookdale Santa Fe in Santa Fe
- Camino Healthcare in Albuquerque
- Casa del Sol Center in Las Cruces
- Casa de Paz Senior Assisted Living in Rio Rancho
- Casa Maria Health Care Center in Roswell
- Casa Real in Santa Fe
- Desert Springs Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Hobbs
- Good Samaritan Society Las Cruces in Las Cruces
- Good Samaritan Society – Manzano del Sol Village in Albuquerque
- Good Samaritan Society Socorro in Socorro
- Harmony Residential Care in Rio Rancho
- Heartfelt Manor in Roswell
- Ladera Center in Albuquerque
- Lakeview Christian Home in Carlsbad
- Las Palomas Center in Albuquerque
- Life Care Center of Farmington in Farmington
- LifeSpire Assisted Living in Albuquerque
- Lovington Healthcare in Lovington
- McKinley Care Center in Gallup
- Mission Arch Center in Roswell
- The Neighborhood in Rio Rancho
- New Mexico State Veterans’ Home in Truth or Consequences
- North Ridge Alzheimer’s Special Care Center in Albuquerque
- Palmilla Senior Living in Albuquerque
- Princeton Place in Albuquerque
- Ravenna Assisted Living in Albuquerque
- The Rehab Center of Albuquerque in Albuquerque
- Retirement Ranches in Clovis
- The Rio at Las Estancias in Albuquerque
- Rio Rancho Center in Rio Rancho
- Saint Anthony Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Clovis
- Sagecrest Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Las Cruces
- Sandia Ridge Center in Albuquerque
- San Juan Center in Farmington
- Sombrillo Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Los Alamos
- Spanish Trails Rehabilitation Suites in Albuquerque
- Sunset Vista Adult Residential Care in Silver City
- Tender Heart Assisted Living in Albuquerque
- Welbrook Senior Living Las Cruces in Las Cruces
- West Ridge Village in Albuquerque
- Wheatfields Senior Living in Clovis
Statewide cases
According to a state news release, previously reported numbers included eight cases that have been identified as duplicates: two in Bernalillo County, one in Curry County, one in Doña Ana County, one in Guadalupe County, one in McKinley County and two in San Juan County; these have been corrected on the county totals, which are subject to change upon further investigation and determination of residency of individuals positive for COVID-19.
- Bernalillo County: 5,668
- Catron County: 5
- Chaves County: 647
- Cibola County: 396
- Colfax County: 19
- Curry County: 650
- Doña Ana County: 2,752
- Eddy County: 457
- Grant County: 76
- Guadalupe County: 32
- Harding County: 2
- Hidalgo County: 93
- Lea County: 1,076
- Lincoln County: 164
- Los Alamos County: 24
- Luna County: 275
- McKinley County: 4,167
- Mora County: 6
- Otero County: 218
- Quay County: 60
- Rio Arriba County: 352
- Roosevelt County: 194
- Sandoval County: 1,230
- San Juan County: 3,162
- San Miguel County: 75
- Santa Fe County: 791
- Sierra County: 37
- Socorro County: 77
- Taos County: 116
- Torrance County: 63
- Union County: 31
- Valencia County: 499
Cases among people being held by federal agencies
- Cibola County Correctional Center: 324
- Otero County Prison Facility: 280
- Otero County Processing Center: 159
- Torrance County Detention Facility: 44
Cases among people being held by the New Mexico Department of Corrections
- Central New Mexico Correctional Facility in Valencia County: 28
- Lea County Correctional Facility: 4
- Northeast New Mexico Correctional Facility in Union County: 1
- Northwest New Mexico Correctional Center in Cibola County: 1
- Otero County Prison Facility: 472
- Penitentiary of New Mexico in Santa Fe County: 1
- Western New Mexico Correctional Facility in Cibola County: 4
*Per the health department, hospitalization figures include people who were tested elsewhere but are hospitalized in New Mexico, but don't include people who were tested here but are hospitalized out of state.
Alex De Vore contributed reporting to this story.
