artdirector@sfreporter.com
COVID-19 by the numbers
New Mexico health officials yesterday reported 3,245 new COVID-19 cases for the three-day period of Feb. 12-14, bringing the statewide total so far to 503,623; DOH has designated 396,313 of those cases as recovered.
Bernalillo County had 1,103 cases, followed by Sandoval County with 338 and San Juan County with 280. Santa Fe County had 154 new cases.
According to the most recent weekly vaccine report, between Feb. 1-7, 63.3% of COVID-19 cases were among people who had not completed a primary vaccination series; 28.7% were among those who had completed the series but had not received a booster; and 8% were among those who were fully vaccinated and boosted. For hospitalizations, those figures change to 81.3%, 16.4% and 2.3%. The percentages shift to 88.5%, 10.9% and 0.7% for fatalities.
The state also reported 26 additional deaths, 19 of them recent, including a Santa Fe County female in her 70s who had been hospitalized. Santa Fe County has now had 244 fatalities; there have been 6,684 statewide. Hospitalizations continue to decline: As of yesterday, 403 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, 19% fewer than last Friday and nearly 29% less than a week ago.
Currently, 91.6% percent of adults 18 years and older have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 77.7% have completed their primary series. Among the same demographic, 43.4% have had a booster shot. In the 12-17-year-old age group, 70.6% of people have had at least one dose and 60.4% have completed their primary series. Among children ages 5-11, 37.4% have had at least one dose of the Pfizer vaccine and 27.6% have completed their primary series. In Santa Fe County, 99% of people 18 and older have had at least one dose and 86.7% have completed their primary series.
New Mexicans can register for a COVID-19 vaccine here, schedule a COVID-19 vaccine booster here and view a public calendar for vaccine availability here. Parents can add dependents to their vaccine profiles here. You can read the guidelines for quarantine and isolation here.
You can order free at-home COVID-19 tests here and find other testing options at findatestnm.org. New Mexicans living in ZIP codes disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 may be eligible for five free tests through Accesscovidtest.org. The health department is offering drive-through PCR testing through Feb. 21; to find an appointment (recommended only for people with symptoms), register here. You can self-report a positive COVID-19 test result to the health department here.
The City of Santa Fe began distributing free at-home rapid antigen COVID-19 tests on Friday; residents and visitors may collect one kit per person (up to four per household) at all three library branches; all three recreation centers; the convention center and tourism office. See locations and times here (except for the Genoveva Chavez Community Center, which isn’t listed, but offers free tests during its operating hours). The city says it can also provide testing kits to organizations by request, and continues to distribute to the 87507 ZIP code through partner organizations La Familia, The Food Depot and the city’s Mobile Integrated Health Unit.
For those who test positive for COVID-19, the state advises seeking treatments, such as the oral treatments Paxlovid (age 12+) and Molnupiravir (age 18+); as well as monoclonal antibody treatment. People seeking treatment who do not have a medical provider can call NMDOH’s COVID-19 hotline at 1-855-600-3453.
You can read all of SFR’s COVID-19 coverage here.
House passes bill raising teacher salaries
Late yesterday, the state House passed Senate Bill 1, which will increase minimum educator salary levels in the state’s three-tier licensure system to $50,000, $60,000 and $70,000 for level 1, 2, and 3 teachers, respectively. “In order for our students to thrive, New Mexico teachers should be the best-compensated teachers in the region,” co-sponsor state Rep. Debra Sariñana, D-Albuquerque, said in a statement. “Tonight, we got one step closer to making that happen.” The pay raise arrives as the state faces what has been called a “staggering” number of vacancies. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who will now sign the bill into law, said in a statement its passage reflected her and the Legislature’s “shared respect for the profession and commitment to supporting current and future educators. Education is the bedrock of future success, and a properly compensated workforce is integral to ensuring the strongest possible foundation for New Mexico children. New Mexicans across the state can be proud of the unanimous legislative support this bill received.”
GOP group launches ad campaign against gov
A Washington, DC nonprofit with reported close ties to the Republican Governors Association yesterday unveiled what a news release described as a six-figure ad buy in the Albuquerque media market attacking Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s record on crime. Yesterday’s ad begins by saying “New Mexico faces a crime crisis. Violent crime surging. Record homicides. Illegal drugs. But Michelle Lujan Grisham has a long record of working against law enforcement.” Will Reinert, the RGA’s regional press secretary, said in an accompanying statement that “at every point in Lujan Grisham’s career she’s failed to provide police with proper support to fight back against rises in crime, and no amount of false promises heading into an election will alter her dangerous record.” The ad campaign arrives as the clock ticks on the legislative session ending at noon, Feb. 17, in which Lujan Grisham made crime a cornerstone of her agenda.
Over the weekend, the House passed legislation increasing penalties for violent gun offenders, among other provisions, a bill whose importance, the governor said in a statement, was “unfortunately highlighted” by the recent shooting of a state police officer by someone in illegal possession of a firearm: “Every New Mexican deserves to be safe in their community,” the governor said. “Every New Mexico law enforcement officer should be able to serve their community and return home safely. It is essential that violent offenders are held accountable for their actions.” A new proposal, introduced yesterday by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces and advancing quickly, focuses on law enforcement and training versus enhanced criminal penalties. One of the more controversial initiatives, which would have altered the state’s pretrial detention system, remains in play but sponsors significantly altered their proposal to focus on monitoring versus detention. That bill is in the House, but has not yet gone to the Senate.
City reopens LaFarge library
Library lovers, rejoice. After closing in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the La Farge Branch (1730 Llano St.) re-opens at 10 am today for in-person services and will be open from 10 am to 6 pm, Tuesday through Saturday, “until further hiring allows for expanding evening and weekend hours of operation,” according to a news release. The main and Southside branches reopened last July. La Farge also will sport a new Young Adult Collection Space; new furniture and décor; and recently installed artworks from the Art in Public Places portfolio originally sited at Warehouse 21. “It has been our honor to safely provide library service at curbside at La Farge Library to the community over the past two years,” Community Services/Library Division Director Maria Sanchez-Tucker said in a statement. “The La Farge Library is a beloved and important neighborhood resource and we are pleased to be much closer to providing pre-pandemic levels of services to the community. With assistance from the Friends of the Library and the City Facilities Department, library staff has made some great updates to the space and we look forward to welcoming the community back in.” La Farge will continue to provide curbside service.
Listen up
Jefferson Graham, host of the travel photography series “Photowalks with Jefferson Graham,” concluded his four-part series in New Mexico with a visit to Santa Fe, where he spent time with a variety of folks including photographer Nevada Wier; Casa Chimayo cooks Benina and Joaquin Quintano; Stan Singley from The Pantry restaurant; and lifelong resident Noah Lopez. Photographic highlights included walking up the hill to the Cross of the Martyrs for sunset; photographing Loretto Chapel’s miracle staircase before the crowds arrived; and lying on his back on the floor to capture the entire round dome at the state capital. “Yes to all,” Graham writes, “but my highlight is pretty simple: just being in Santa Fe, seeing, smelling, experiencing the City Different streets and snapping away when inspiration hit. Which was pretty often!” Watch the whole episode here and check out the storyboard.
Good vibes
Santa Fe, as countless stories have noted, can easily claim delicious food, arts galore and skies for days. But are we friendly? Apparently so. At least according to the readers of Condé Nast magazine. Santa Fe appears at number seven on a list of the 10 friendliest cities in the US, right behind New Orleans but ahead of Key West, Florida. Santa Fe, the magazine writes, “has been irresistible to creative types” for the “better part of the last century” (or, you know, longer, depending on who is counting). “The friendly residents aren’t just artsy, though,” the story says. We’re also—wait for it—into food “because the city attracts such a diverse range of people, you see it reflected in its dining scene and elsewhere.” The friendly rankings came from Conde Nast’s annual Readers’ Choice Awards survey in which participants are asked to focus “on where you felt welcome when you traveled. Did an outgoing local go out of their way to give you directions? Was the city easy to navigate? Did you simply get good vibes from the people around you?” That survey, by the way, follows CN’s annual awards, in which Santa Fe also ranked fourth in last year’s best cities in the US list).
Creative revolution
An upcoming series of events from local nonprofit Creative Startups dubbed Creative Experience Santa Fe carries the subtitle Defying Our Destiny: Transforming Our Creative Future. “The Industrial Revolution created the 9-to-5 work culture, now we’re seeing a new revolution for the nature of work,” Shuangyi Li, director of strategic development at Creative Startups, tells SFR. “We don’t need people in factories anymore, 9-to-5 doesn’t make sense anymore, so what is the nature of work going forward?” The event is scheduled to run Friday, March 25 through Sunday, March 27 on the Railyard, with attendees from all over the world. Li notes that Santa Fe is an ideal location for such an event, in large part because the creative industry already has deep roots here. “What we’re seeing is so much creative industry on the ground here, and we’re having a missed opportunity if we don’t brand ourselves as a capital for creators,” Li says.
Wear layers
High temps today will reach 56 degrees or so, the National Weather Service says, with sunny skies and north wind 5 to 15 mph becoming west in the afternoon. We have a 20% chance for snow starting late morning on Wednesday, currently forecast to continue and increase in probability into Thursday, as temperatures temporarily drop back into the high 30s.
Thanks for reading! The Word recommends this LA Review of Books essay on cats and pictures even if you don’t have a cat.
