DOH: “All of NM is a High-Risk Setting”

Health officials say FEMA will return to help with vaccinations; COVID-19 oral treatments expected next week

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New Mexico continues to experience high daily case rates of COVID-19, with the entire state showing “red” for high community transmission, state Epidemiologist Dr. Christine Ross said today during the health department’s weekly pandemic update.

The state’s cases continue to be driven by the Delta variant, Ross said; New Mexico has not yet detected the Omicron variant in the state, though both Ross and Acting Health Secretary Dr. David Scrase said they anticipate finding it here soon.

“We remain on high alert for this variant,” Ross said.

Health officials today reported 1,444 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the statewide total so far to 326,713; DOH has designated 275,618 of those cases as recovered. The state likely has not seen the result of cases contracted during the Thanksgiving holiday, Ross said.

Bernalillo County had 447 new cases, followed by Doña Ana County with 211 and Sandoval County with 98. Santa Fe County had 75. Santa Fe County’s daily case rate per 100,000 people and test positivity rate for the 14-day period of Nov. 23 through Dec. 6 was 38.9 and 7.5%. The state benchmark for those data points is 10 and 7.5%, respectively.

“What we are seeing is a really significant impact on our healthcare system,” Ross said.

Acting Health Secretary Dr. David Scrase reiterated the immense stress the state’s hospitals are experiencing. As of today, 687 people are hospitalized with COVID-19, the highest number since last January.* Moreover, hospitals are more full this year than last due to the addition of sick people who delayed care last year. Subsequently, he said, “hospitals are in a grave situation.”

Emergency rooms, he said, are seeing the highest number of patients waiting on hospital beds they’ve had all year. Two hospitals reported yesterday they had 65 and 90 people, respectively, in emergency room beds waiting on beds in the hospitals.

“You don’t have to…run a hospital to know if you have that many people taking up emergency room beds you’re not able to see people who come in with emergencies,” he noted, adding a request for people to avoid calling ambulances or visiting emergency rooms except in cases of actual emergencies such as traumas, heart attacks and strokes.

“If you fall off your roof and have severe pain in your back, you should call 911,” he said. “If you wake up this morning like I do every morning and your back is a little stiff, you don’t need to call 911.”

To underscore hospitals’ situation, Michael Richards, senior vice president for clinical affairs at University of New Mexico Health spoke briefly about UNM’s capacity, noting the hospital “is experiencing record high volume of patient census” and long waits in the emergency room. Those waits are adding to stressful situations, he noted. “We’re seeing more difficult and more frequent situations where patients or family members contribute to creating a difficult environment because of their frustrations and long waits,” he said.

Officials from both Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center and Presbyterian Healthcare Services recently also spoke of an uptick of violent behavior at their facilities.

The health department continues to report most of the new cases, hospitalizations and deaths to be among those who are not vaccinated: over the last four weeks, 74.1% of cases were among the unvaccinated, as were 81.5% of those hospitalized and 85.7% of deaths. Ross also provided data on new cases known to be people who were reinfected: 4,128 identified through surveillance.

Health officials, thusly, continue to emphasize vaccinations and booster shots for those who are two months past a single J&J dose and six months past their second Moderna or Pfizer vaccine. According to state data, the chances for a breakthrough case are four times as high for those who completed their series prior to June 1, versus those who did so afterward.

“We still think the fuel for this fire of this case count is unvaccinated individuals,” Scrase said, but he noted that there likely are other factors playing into New Mexico’s surge of cases in addition to waning immunity, such as increased mobility and relaxed adherence to the indoor mask mandate. He noted he had recently attended an indoor meeting where people removed their masks, he said, in response to his presence. “Folks, sadly, think there is some political meaning to wearing a mask. I just don’t get it. They are wanting to say we don’t want government to tell us what to do, we want to exercise our personal freedoms.” His response, he said: “I never know what to do. I’m just trying to work my way through the psychology of this…and meet the needs of New Mexico and be understanding.”

The state will be receiving additional help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which will be returning to New Mexico to help administer vaccines. Last week, President Biden said FEMA is launching Family Mobile Vaccination Clinics, deploying sites, staff and support to states across the country that need help—beginning with its first deployments here and to Washington.

Deputy Health Secretary Dr. Laura Parajón also reiterated a call for healthcare providers to sign up to help administer vaccines: “You guys are our trusted people,” she said. “People trust you guys as providers.”

The state also will be hosting vaccine clinics in the coming days, including at the Santa Fe County Fairgrounds on Dec. 11.

Currently, 84.2% of New Mexicans 18 years and older have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 73.7% are fully vaccinated. Among that age group, 16.9% have had a booster shot. In the 12-17-year-old age group, 63.7% of people have had at least one dose and 55.2% are fully inoculated. Among children ages 5-11, 6.3% have had at least one dose of the Pfizer vaccine. In Santa Fe County, 95.4% of people 18 and older have had at least one dose and 83.6% are fully vaccinated.

Booster shots have picked up since the Thanksgiving holiday, Parajón said.

The state also announced 15 additional deaths, 12 recent; there have now been 5,445 fatalities. Scrase said the state does expect to receive, next week, its first shipments of Molnupiravir, following emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. The at-home oral treatment for COVID-19, which must be taken within five days of symptoms, will be distributed to those areas that don’t currently have access to monoclonal antibody treatment, he said: Valencia, Torrance, Hidalgo, Mora, Catron, Harding, De Baca and Cibola counties.

Finally, Scrase put out a call for residents to enable New Mexico Notify on their phones to assist with contact tracing, saying the health department is staffed to accommodate 300 cases a day, far below what the state is currently experiencing. “I would love it,” he said, “and if would really help.”

New cases

  • 447 new cases in Bernalillo County
  • 75 new cases in Chaves County
  • 18 new cases in Cibola County
  • 7 new cases in Colfax County
  • 29 new cases in Curry County
  • 10 new cases in De Baca County
  • 211 new cases in Doña Ana County
  • 37 new cases in Eddy County
  • 20 new cases in Grant County
  • 3 new cases in Hidalgo County
  • 23 new cases in Lea County
  • 12 new cases in Lincoln County
  • 6 new cases in Los Alamos County
  • 26 new cases in Luna County
  • 42 new cases in McKinley County
  • 1 new case in Mora County
  • 29 new cases in Otero County
  • 11 new cases in Quay County
  • 23 new cases in Rio Arriba County
  • 11 new cases in Roosevelt County
  • 98 new cases in Sandoval County
  • 94 new cases in San Juan County
  • 25 new cases in San Miguel County
  • 75 new cases in Santa Fe County
  • 3 new cases in Sierra County
  • 17 new cases in Socorro County
  • 8 new cases in Taos County
  • 5 new cases in Torrance County
  • 5 new cases in Union County
  • 71 new cases in Valencia County
  • 1 new case among New Mexico Corrections Department inmates at the Central New Mexico Correctional Facility in Valencia County
  • 1 new case among New Mexico Corrections Department inmates at the Springer Correctional Center in Colfax County

New fatalities

  • A female in her 60s from Bernalillo County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions
  • A male in his 80s from Bernalillo County
  • A male in his 30s from Cibola County who was hospitalized
  • A female in her 40s from Doña Ana County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions
  • A female in her 60s from Doña Ana County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions
  • A female in her 70s from Doña Ana County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions
  • A male in his 70s from Eddy County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions
  • A female in her 30s from San Juan County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions
  • A male in his 40s from San Juan County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions
  • A male in his 50s from San Juan County who was hospitalized
  • A female in her 70s from Socorro County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions
  • A female in her 60s from Torrance County who was hospitalized

Newly reported fatalities more than 30 days old

  • A female in her 30s from Curry County who was hospitalized
  • A male in his 30s from McKinley County. The individual was hospitalized.
  • A male in his 70s from San Juan County who was hospitalized

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:

  • Advanced Health Care in Albuquerque
  • Albuquerque Heights Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center
  • Aspen Ridge Lodge Retirement in Los Alamos
  • Autumn Blessings Assisted Living in Logan
  • Avamere at Fiesta Park in Albuquerque
  • Avamere in Rio Rancho
  • Aztec Healthcare in Aztec
  • BeeHive Homes Alamogordo
  • BeeHive Homes in Clovis
  • BeeHive Homes in Roswell
  • Bloomfield Nursing and Rehab Center in Bloomfield
  • The Bridge of Farmington in Farmington
  • Calibre Sagecrest Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Las Cruces
  • Camino Retirement Homes in Albuquerque
  • Casa Arena Blanca Nursing Center in Alamogordo
  • Casa de Carino in Albuquerque
  • Casa Maria Health Care Center in Roswell
  • Casa Real Genesis in Santa Fe
  • Cedar Ridge Inn in Farmington
  • Desert Peaks Assisted Living in Las Cruces
  • Desert Springs Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Hobbs
  • Fairwinds Assisted Living in Rio Rancho
  • Fort Bayard Medical Center in Santa Clara
  • Genesis Healthcare Uptown in Albuquerque
  • Genesis McKinley Care Center in Gallup
  • Genesis San Juan Center in Farmington
  • Genesis Silver City Care Center in Silver City
  • Good Life Senior Living in Ruidoso
  • Good Samaritan Society Las Cruces
  • Good Samaritan Society – Manzano del Sol Village in Albuquerque
  • Haciendas at Grace Village in Las Cruces
  • Lakeview Christian Home in Carlsbad
  • Las Cruces Post Acute and Rehabilitation Center of Cascadia (Welbrook Senior Living) in Las Cruces
  • Las Palomas Center in Albuquerque
  • Life Care Farmington
  • Little Sisters of the Poor in Gallup
  • The Meadows Home at the New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute in Las Vegas
  • Mimbres Memorial Nursing Home in Deming
  • Miners Colfax Medical Center in Raton
  • The Neighborhood Health Care in Rio Rancho
  • New Mexico State Veterans Home in Truth or Consequences
  • Odelia Healthcare (Camino Healthcare) in Albuquerque
  • Palmilla Senior Living in Albuquerque
  • Princeton Place in Albuquerque
  • The Rehabilitation Center of Albuquerque
  • The Retreat Healthcare in Rio Rancho
  • The Rio Las Estancias in Albuquerque
  • Sandia Ridge Genesis in Albuquerque
  • Sandia View Cottonwood Assisted Living in Albuquerque
  • Skies Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Albuquerque
  • Sombrillo Nursing Home in Los Alamos
  • South Valley Care Center in Albuquerque
  • Spanish Trails Rehabilitation Suites in Albuquerque
  • St. Anthony Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Clovis
  • Sugar Hollow Assisted Living Community in Albuquerque
  • The Suites at Rio Vista in Rio Rancho
  • Taos Living Center in Taos
  • Vida Encantada Nursing & Rehabilitation in Las Vegas
  • Village at Northrise - Desert Willow in Las Cruces
  • The Watermark at Cherry Hills in Albuquerque
  • White Sands Healthcare in Hobbs

Statewide cases

County totals are subject to change upon further investigation and determination of residency of individuals positive for COVID-19.

  • Bernalillo County: 91,133
  • Catron County: 267
  • Chaves County: 14,278
  • Cibola County: 4,221
  • Colfax County: 1,643
  • Curry County: 8,194
  • De Baca County: 358
  • Doña Ana County: 38,134
  • Eddy County: 11,965
  • Grant County: 3,890
  • Guadalupe County: 677
  • Harding County: 52
  • Hidalgo County: 641
  • Lea County: 14,197
  • Lincoln County: 3,528
  • Los Alamos County: 956
  • Luna County: 4,663
  • McKinley County: 17,076
  • Mora County: 427
  • Otero County: 8,629
  • Quay County: 1,421
  • Rio Arriba County: 5,929
  • Roosevelt County: 3,158
  • Sandoval County: 19,615
  • San Juan County: 27,358
  • San Miguel County: 3,162
  • Santa Fe County: 15,465
  • Sierra County: 1,388
  • Socorro County: 2,303
  • Taos County: 3,014
  • Torrance County: 1,737
  • Union County: 453
  • Valencia County: 11,498

Cases among people being held by federal agencies

  • Cibola County Correctional Center: 455
  • Otero County Federal Prison Facility: 572
  • Otero County Processing Center: 622
  • Torrance County Detention Facility: 356

Cases among people being held by the New Mexico Department of Corrections

  • Central New Mexico Correctional Facility in Valencia County: 362
  • Guadalupe County Correctional Facility: 258
  • Lea County Correctional Facility: 765
  • Northeast New Mexico Correctional Facility in Union County: 213
  • Northwest New Mexico Correctional Center in Cibola County: 131
  • Otero County Prison Facility: 526
  • Penitentiary of New Mexico in Santa Fe County: 233
  • Roswell Correctional Center: 230
  • Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility in Doña Ana County: 238
  • Springer Correctional Center in Colfax County: 244
  • Western New Mexico Correctional Facility in Cibola County: 78

*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.