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COVID-19 by the numbers
New Mexico health officials yesterday reported 381 new COVID-19 cases for May 29 through June 1, bringing the total number of cases to 203,151. Bernalillo County had 103 new cases, followed by 54 in San Juan County and 51 in Lea County. Santa Fe County had 18 new cases.
The state also announced two additional deaths, both dated more than 30 days ago, from Bernalillo and Lea counties. According to the health department, COVID-related deaths are reported once a death certificate has been issued, with some death certificates delayed due to insufficient information. As of yesterday, 105 people were hospitalized with COVID-19.
Currently, 65.6% of New Mexicans have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 55.8% are fully vaccinated. In Santa Fe County, 74.5% have had at least one dose and 64.1% are fully inoculated.
Health Secretary Dr. Tracie Collins and Human Services Secretary Dr. David Scrase will deliver a COVID-19 update at 1 pm today on the DOH Facebook page.
You can read all of SFR’s COVID-19 coverage here. If you’ve had experiences with COVID-19, we would like to hear from you.
New Mexico kicks off $10 mil vaccination lottery
New Mexico unveiled a $10 million vaccination incentive program yesterday—the Vax 2 the Max Sweepstakes—as the state pushes toward the goal of having a 60% full vaccination rate by the end of the month. The state is using American Rescue Plan stimulus funds for the program following guidance issued last week by the US Treasury Department that allows for such use, and endorsement by the White House for doing so. In New Mexico, five weekly drawings will start in the middle of June, with all vaccinated New Mexicans who opt into the sweepstakes eligible for a $250,000 prize from each of the state’s four public health regions, a total of $1 million in cash prizes each week. The New Mexico Lottery will conduct the cash sweepstakes drawings. The state will also award a grand prize of $5 million at the end of the lottery in early August. To be eligible, register and verify your personal and vaccine information at vax2themaxnm.org. “Getting vaccinated is the right thing to do—for yourself, for your family and for your state,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement. “I’m excited to add a little fun to our nation-leading vaccination push.” Smaller prizes—such as staycations, museum passes and fishing licenses—will be available onsite at certain providers working through the state’s vaccination registry site.
In enacting a vaccination lottery program, New Mexico joins several other states providing incentives in order to encourage vaccination. West Virginia announced its program yesterday, which includes a $1 million Father’s Day drawing, college scholarships and guns. Ohio’s lottery prompted a 94% vaccination increase for people in the 16-to-17-year-old age group. While the lotteries have prompted some criticisms, their use for public welfare has a long history tied in popularity to waxing and waning sentiments regarding the role of chance in economics. Some private businesses also have been incentivizing vaccines, such as Krispy Kreme, which says it has given away 1.5 million donuts since offering in March a free glazed to anyone with proof of vaccination.
Dem Stansbury wins CD1 in a landslide
State Rep. Melanie Stansbury easily won a four-way race yesterday for New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District in a special election to replace now Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, maintaining Democrats’ hold in the district. Unofficial results from the New Mexico Secretary of State’s office show Stansbury leading with 60% of the vote against Republican state Sen. Mark Moores. Independent candidate Audrey Dunn received 3% of the vote followed by Libertarian Chris Manning with 1%. “When the moment demands it, when our families and our communities demand it, when our country demands it, we step up and find the solutions for communities and we figure it out,” Stansbury said during her victory speech. “And that is exactly what we did in this campaign and that is why I am standing before you tonight.” State Democratic Party Chairwoman Jessica Velasquez also released a statement touting the win in a race that garnered national attention as a potential bellwether for Democrats nationwide: “Democrats sent a clear message during this election that we’re not taking anything for granted when it comes to electing leaders who truly represent our values,” Velasquez said. “While the GOP relied on fear mongering and lies, Democrats were building an expansive field program and working to get out the vote. We know the importance of electing strong Democrats like Melanie Stansbury, and we will continue to build on that momentum as we look toward 2022.”
The election also marked the first instance of same-day voter registration in the state through Election Day; Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse says, via a news release, more than 2,000 voters used same-day voter registration for the CD1 election, and it will continue to be available for voters pending approval from New Mexico’s Voter Systems Certification Committee. “Same-day voter registration is a great resource to widen participation in our elections,” Toulouse Oliver said in a statement, “and implementing it has been a top priority for my office.”
There’s no place like home
The Lensic Performing Arts Center’s last live event was March 10, 2020. Yesterday, Executive Director Joel Aalberts announced the Lensic will reopen on June 17 starting with free screenings of The Wizard of Oz as a “gift to our community” (tickets available to members today and everyone else in a week). Support “from our members and the community has been incredible during the pandemic, and we are able to come back as strong as ever,” Aalbert said in a statement. In other positive developments, The Santa Fe Opera, whose 2020 season also was derailed, will announce details for this summer’s season during a live news conference at 10:30 am today with General Director Robert K. Meya, Chief Artistic Officer David Lomelí, soprano Angel Blue and other special guests that will feature “stunning scenes...and much good news!” (sounds good to us). And in yet another heartening sign, Collected Works Bookstore reopened yesterday after 15 months of curbside sales and 85 online author events. The store will be open from 10 am to 6 pm Monday through Saturday and 10 am to 3 pm on Sundays. “Thank you for your business over the past 15 months,” a statement on the store’s website says. “We could not have survived as an independent bookstore without your loyalty and support.”
Listen up
The online Next Generation Water Summit kicks off today and runs through June 4 with the umbrella theme of “Drought, Growth and Social Equity.” Keynote speaker climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe starts the conference with a talk on “Connecting Climate Change to Local Impacts.” Other panels and talks today focus on water conservation, building during drought and how water limitations impact growth in the West. Register for the conference here (Santa Fe residents can attend for free, courtesy of the City of Santa Fe Water Conservation Office). Conference chairman and Green Builder Coalition Executive Director Mike Collignon also previewed the conference on the Santa Fe Home Builders Association radio hour earlier this month.
Look, don’t touch
Anyone who has followed the trail, be it urban or wild, has likely come across stones stacked in various degrees of order, their meaning opaque to the casual hiker—and perhaps stacked with no meaning at all. Writer Paul Weideman refers to the practice as “messing with the matrix” in “Eyes on the Land” in the summer edition of El Palacio magazine. “That’s one of the problems with the modern-day fad of stacking stones into cairns in wilderness areas,” Weideman writes. “Cairns are an age-old method of marking trails, but those that are constructed for less serious reasons at archaeological sites can cause irreparable damage.” The story delves into the work of New Mexico SiteWatch, a program though the state Department of Cultural Affairs, whose trained site stewards monitor archaeological sites for both natural and human-induced damage. Stone-stacking falls in the latter category, as does finding and unearthing pot sherds and leaving them on rocks to display. “It’s not done with nefarious intent,” SiteWatch coordinator and field archaeologist Jessica Badner says. “If it were just five or so sherds, okay, it’s not ideal, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s a relatively small impact. But multiply that over 20 or 30 years of site visits.”
COVID-19 at long-term care facilities
National Geographic magazine explores the compounded grief for long-term care facility residents throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on those living at the Albuquerque Heights Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center. Kevin McCauley lost his roommate Michael Lazarin, someone he considered as close as a brother, and one of eight people who died at the facility and 55 who contracted the virus, according to New Mexico Department of Health data. Survivors’ guilt, combined with the intensity of quarantine at such facilities and ongoing restrictions from leaving the premises, add to the challenges residents such as McCauley continue to face. He, like 50% of the residents at the time of the story, have received a COVID-19 vaccine. “It was a big sigh of relief,” he says. “There is also guilt when you’re still alive and someone you know is dead because of a certain virus.” Moreover, “the confining residents to their rooms and safety measures that were taken to keep people safe from COVID could have very easily re-traumatized people or even newly traumatized people in different ways, particularly that isolation piece,” according to Dr. Nancy Kusmaul, associate professor of Social Work at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, who focuses on long-term and trauma-informed care.
Better than nothing
Once again, Santa Fe has a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms today after noon. Otherwise, another mostly sunny day with a high near 78 degrees and northeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon. Those low odds for precipitation continue throughout the week as the temperature continues to rise.
Thanks for reading! The Word plans to imbibe various spritzes as the weather warms.
