With case counts continuing to rise and the state no longer meeting key gating criteria established for the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced today New Mexico will be amending and extending the public health order set to expire Oct. 16 with additional restrictions for restaurant operating hours, lodging occupancy, quarantine rules for travelers and mass gatherings.
The announcement comes as health officials report 355 new cases today, bringing the statewide total so far to 33,713. Bernalillo County led with the most new cases again: 121 of them, followed by Doña Ana County with 50 and Santa Fe County with the third most cases statewide: 41.
The state also announced three more deaths from Bernalillo and Curry counties; there have now been 918 fatalities. As of today, 125 people are hospitalized with COVID-19.* Details on today's cases are available at the end of this story.
In addition to the rollbacks that will go into effect Oct. 16, absent an improvement in the state's gating criteria, the state will once again restrict indoor dining service and significantly roll back maximum occupancy at other retail and dining establishments, according to a news release from the governor's office. Currently, according to the health department, the state is not meeting three of its gating criteria. The effective rate of transmission, which officials want to keep below 1.05, has reached 1.26. The state's COVID-19 weekly modeling report, released today, shows that rate has increased in all the state's public health regions to a degree requiring mitigation.
The daily case count, measured over a seven-day rolling average, has exceeded the target of 168 or less and is now at 333. The test positivity rate, which should remain at 5% or less, is now at 5.3%.
"When the community spread of the virus becomes uncontrollable—and we are fast approaching that point—our only option is to simply shut down those opportunities for the virus," the governor said in a statement. Noting that the state had made progress through its mitigation efforts, Lujan Grisham said those gains are now "rapidly disappearing. Rollbacks will mean more economic turmoil for so many workers and business owners in our state who have already suffered and sacrificed so much. But it is our only chance to prevent more devastating illness and to save lives. No one wants to come to that point. I detest the very thought of it. We have got to turn it around and fast."
Rapid responses to businesses and other organizations also continue to increase. The weekly report for Oct. 5-11 shows 611 rapid responses compared with 419 the week prior. Santa Fe accounted for 35 of them, placing it in sixth place statewide, an improvement from its ranking the week prior at No. 3. Bernalillo, Doña Ana and Chaves counties had the most, respectively.
The governor and other public officials are expected to discuss changes to the public health order at the weekly COVID-19 update on Oct. 15. SFR will provide details for that news conference when they are available.
Announced changes to the public health order that will be extended and amended on Oct. 16 include:
• A 10 pm closing time nightly for any food or drink establishment that serves alcohol. The state's Economic Recovery Council made this recommendation, which has been implemented in other states. Council member Allan Affeldt said in a statement that while "the overwhelming majority of hotels and restaurants" support the state's COVID-safe practices, some "blatantly disregard public safety by operating late and in gross violation of safe practices and common sense" and primarily do so after hours.
• Reduction of maximum occupancy restrictions for places of lodging to 60% for those that have completed the N.M. Safe Certified training program and to 25% for those that have not—a reduction of maximum occupancy from 75% and 50%, respectively.
• People arriving from "higher-risk states" —or those with a test positivity rate exceeding 5% and a test positivity rate higher than 80 per 100,000 residents—can no longer be exempt from quarantine by testing negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of arrival. The governor will amend her executive order so that all individuals arriving from those states—a list of which is updated each Wednesday at cv.nmhealth.org/travel-
• Mass gatherings have been reduced from 10 to five people.
New cases
- 121 new cases in Bernalillo County
- 10 new cases in Chaves County
- 5 new cases in Cibola County
- 24 new cases in Curry County
- 50 new cases in Doña Ana County
- 6 new cases in Eddy County
- 1 new case in Grant County
- 19 new cases in Lea County
- 2 new cases in Lincoln County
- 3 new cases in Luna County
- 9 new cases in McKinley County
- 4 new cases in Otero County
- 1 new case in Quay County
- 3 new cases in Rio Arriba County
- 6 new cases in Roosevelt County
- 21 new cases in Sandoval County
- 9 new cases in San Juan County
- 3 new cases in San Miguel County
- 41 new cases in Santa Fe County
- 3 new cases in Socorro County
- 1 new case in Taos County
- 2 new cases in Torrance County
- 10 new cases in Valencia County
- 1 new case among New Mexico Corrections Department inmates at the Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility in Doña Ana County
New fatalities
- A male in his 80s from Bernalillo County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions
- A female in her 60s from Bernalillo County who had underlying conditions
- A female in her 90s from Curry County. who l was hospitalized, had underlying conditions and was a resident of Retirement Ranches in Clovis
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:
- Albuquerque Heights Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center
- Atria Vista Del Rio in Albuquerque
- Bear Canyon Rehabilitation Center in Albuquerque
- BeeHive Homes Volcano Cliffs in Albuquerque
- Belen Meadows Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Belen
- Bloomfield Nursing and Rehabilitation
- Brookdale Santa Fe
- Casa Arena Blanca Nursing Center in Alamogordo
- Casa del Sol Center in Las Cruces
- Casa de Oro Center in Las Cruces
- Casa Maria Health Care Center in Roswell
- Clovis Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Clovis
- Colfax Long Term Care Center in Springer
- Desert Springs Nursing and Rehabilitation in Hobbs
- Good Life Senior Living in Carlsbad
- Good Life Senior Living in Lovington
- Good Samaritan Society Las Cruces
- Laguna Rainbow Care in Casa Blanca
- Lakeview Christian Home in Carlsbad
- Las Palomas Center in Albuquerque
- LifeSpire Assisted Living in Rio Rancho
- Lotus Care Homes in Albuquerque
- Kingston Residence of Santa Fe
- Mission Arch Center in Roswell
- MorningStar Assisted Living & Memory Care in Rio Rancho
- The Neighborhood in Rio Rancho
- New Mexico State Veterans Home in Truth or Consequences
- Princeton Place in Albuquerque
- Ramah Adult Care in Ramah
- The Rehab Center of Albuquerque in Albuquerque
- Retirement Ranches in Clovis
- Retreat Healthcare in Rio Rancho
- Rio Rancho Center
- Sandia Ridge Center in Albuquerque
- Sandia Senior Suites in Albuquerque
- San Juan Center in Albuquerque
- Silver City Care Center in Silver City
- South Valley Care Center in Albuquerque
- Tercer Cielo in Albuquerque
- Village at Northrise in Las Cruces
- Village Retirement Community in Roswell
- The Watermark at Cherry Hills in Albuquerque
- Welbrook Senior Living Las Cruces
Statewide cases
Per a state news release, previously reported numbers included four cases that have been identified as duplicates: three in Bernalillo County and one in Luna County—these have now been corrected. County totals are subject to change upon further investigation and determination of residency of individuals positive for COVID-19.
- Bernalillo County: 7,926
- Catron County: 9
- Chaves County: 1,561
- Cibola County: 471
- Colfax County: 41
- Curry County: 1,117
- De Baca County: 1
- Doña Ana County: 4,158
- Eddy County: 1,046
- Grant County: 147
- Guadalupe County: 37
- Harding County: 1
- Hidalgo County: 108
- Lea County: 1,668
- Lincoln County: 262
- Los Alamos County: 37
- Luna County: 509
- McKinley County: 4,429
- Mora County: 9
- Otero County: 310
- Quay County: 80
- Rio Arriba County: 425
- Roosevelt County: 350
- Sandoval County: 1,556
- San Juan County: 3,483
- San Miguel County: 123
- Santa Fe County: 1,240
- Sierra County: 67
- Socorro County: 144
- Taos County: 161
- Torrance County: 91
- Union County: 37
- Valencia County: 666
Cases among people being held by federal agencies
- Cibola County Correctional Center: 329
- Otero County Prison Facility: 291
- Otero County Processing Center: 181
- 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: 38
- Lea County Correctional Facility: 75
- Northeast New Mexico Correctional Facility in Union County: 5
- Northwest New Mexico Correctional Center in Cibola County: 1
- Otero County Prison Facility: 472
- Penitentiary of New Mexico in Santa Fe County: 1
- Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility in Doña Ana County: 2
- 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.
