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COVID-19 by the numbers
The state health department yesterday rescinded its previous (if somewhat confounding) announcement of an abbreviated reporting schedule this week for COVID-19, noting that “due to the presence of Omicron, case counts will be monitored in the daily report and made available per usual and without interruption.” DOH had not, as of press time, updated its weekly report on Variants of Concern and has thus far only reported one case of Omicron: on Dec. 12 in Bernalillo County. In response to a question from SFR, DOH Health Equity Communications Manager Katy Diffendorfer says, via email, she has “not been informed of any additional Omicron cases at this time. We are keeping an eye on it and it’s likely to change, but as of this moment we are holding steady with no new developments.”
Yesterday, DOH reported 799 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the statewide total so far to 346,461; DOH has designated 301,609 of those cases as recovered. Bernalillo County had 308 new cases, followed by Sandoval County with 89 and San Juan County with 50. Santa Fe County had 37. The seven-day statewide test positivity rate rose from 10% to 11.2%; the state’s target rate is 7.5%. The state is reporting Santa Fe County’s current test positivity rate at 10.53%, with a daily case rate over a two-week period of 40.4 per 100,000 (the statewide target is 10 per 100,000).
The state also announced 22 new deaths, seven of them recent, including a female in her 70s from Santa Fe County who had been hospitalized and had underlying conditions. A second Santa Fe County death was reported from more than 30 days ago (COVID-related deaths are reported when a death certificate has been issued and some death certificates are delayed due to insufficient information): a male in his 80s who had been hospitalized and had underlying conditions. There have now been 198 fatalities in Santa Fe County and 5,774 statewide. As of yesterday, 462 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, an approximate 14% decrease from one week ago.
According to the most recent DOH vaccination case report from Dec. 27, over the last four weeks, 75.7% of COVID-19 cases have been among those who are not vaccinated, as have 83.4% of hospitalizations and 87.5% of deaths. A breakdown of breakthrough cases (infections among those who are vaccinated) per 100,000 since Feb. 1 shows the highest rate among people who are 25 to 39 years old, followed by those who are 40 to 49 years old.
Currently, 88.6% of New Mexicans 18 years and older have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 75.7% are fully vaccinated. Among that demographic, 33.9% have had a booster shot. In the 12-17-year-old age group, 66.5% of people have had at least one dose and 57% are fully inoculated. Among children ages 5-11, 26.6% have had at least one dose of the Pfizer vaccine and 15.4% are fully vaccinated. In Santa Fe County, 99% of people 18 and older have had at least one dose and 85.5% are fully vaccinated.
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 all of SFR’s COVID-19 coverage here.
New cannabis rules take effect
The state Cannabis Control Division announced yesterday final rules for cannabis manufacturers, retailers and couriers are now in effect and hundreds of applications are under review. “Every day brings us closer to the first adult-use cannabis sales in New Mexico,” Cannabis Control Division Director Kristen Thomson said in a statement. Under the state Cannabis Regulation Act, adult sales are scheduled to begin by April 1. The rules that took effect yesterday include final manufacturing rules that replace emergency manufacturing rules that the CCD adopted in the fall to protect workers and improve workplace safety, with the final rules incorporating the emergency safety provisions. Rules also now in place concern the licensing of retail stores, where consumers and patients will purchase cannabis. The courier rules set guidelines for the safe delivery and distribution of cannabis products by licensed couriers. According to a news release, the CCD has been accepting manufacturing and retail license applications through its online licensing system and has received more than 300 submitted applications total across all industry sectors, which now are under review. “Our dedicated team of professionals is working hard through the holidays and…every day to work with applicants to get licenses issued and businesses up and running,” Thomson said. “Standing up a thriving new industry is no small feat, and I know that our team, our system and New Mexico’s prospective licensees are up to the challenge. New Mexico will be ready for adult-use sales in 2022.”
NM minimum wage set to rise
New Mexico’s minimum wage rises to $11.50 per hour as of Jan. 1, with the state tipped minimum wage rising to $2.80 per hour as well. The state Department of Workforce Solutions issued a reminder of the increase, which comes as a result of amendments made in 2019 to the state Minimum Wage Act. New Mexico is one of 26 states raising their minimum wages in the new year. “The Minimum Wage Act is a responsible and phased approach to increasing pay for New Mexicans,” NMDWS Acting Secretary Ricky Serna said in a statement. “NMDWS takes seriously its responsibility to ensure compliance with minimum wage laws through education, technical support and enforcement. Several local governments—including both the City of Santa Fe and Santa Fe County—have their own minimum wages: $12.32 per hour. The Santa Fe City Council voted in October to raise the minimum wage for municipal employees to $15 per hour, but has no immediate plans to expand the rate to the general public, although some councilors have acknowledged the need to start having those discussions. The City of Albuquerque, Bernalillo County and the City of Las Cruces also have their own minimum wages. According to DWS, the state enforces the highest rate rate in place. Employers are required to post the New Mexico Minimum Wage Act Summary Poster in a place where all workers can easily see it.
Advocates press for juvenile justice reform in the new year
Advocates for juvenile offenders hope to persuade Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to add a so-called “Second Chance” bill to the January 2022 legislative session agenda. The Albuquerque Journal reports the bill would abolish life without parole for juveniles sentenced as adults; make those juveniles sentenced as adults eligible for parole after serving 15 years; and allow that parole to be reconsidered every two years if denied. “Children are more capable than adults of reform and rehabilitation,” Denali Wilson, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, tells the Journal. Wilson represents a man sentenced to more than 70 years in prison when he was 16 years old after being convicted for stabbing his grandparents. That man, Michael Brown, will now be eligible for parole after 30 years (in February 2024), following an amended sentence he received in November. “Children need to be given a meaningful opportunity for relief after they have matured and developed,” Wilson says. “That’s exactly what the Second Chance bill would do.”
The bill would be similar to Senate Bill 247, introduced in the 2021 legislative session, which passed the Senate but failed to receive a vote in the House. “I think incarcerating children for life is inherently unjust,” co-sponsor state Rep. Dayan Hochman-Vigil, D-Albuquerque, told SFR last June in the second of our three-part series examining juvenile justice issues in New Mexico. The proposal has critics, particularly from crime victims and their families. An AG spokesperson tells the Journal both need to be included in any discussions about such reform. “We support humane reforms to the juvenile justice system, however heinous crimes are not appropriate for a reduced sentence,” Jerri Mares says in a written statement. First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies testified in the bill’s favor last year, and told SFR she thinks “it’s important that the law takes into account that, even if we treat juveniles somewhat the same on the front end [of the justice system, at trial], they are different. I did support it, and I will continue to support it.”
Listen up
On the most recent episode of the Resilient New Mexico podcast—which explores climate-related stories, issues and ideas—hosts Peter Heald and Sandra West talk with Melinda Morgan, the current director of the Sustainability Studies Program at the University of New Mexico and co-author of The End of Sustainability: Resilience and the Future of Environmental Governance in the Anthropocene. The discussion centers on how communities can be resilient, what it means to move past sustainability, and how to define the Anthropocene.
La Fonda readies for its 100-year birthday
La Fonda Hotel turns 100 in 2022, and the Dallas Morning News has taken note because “when history and hospitality collide, it’s time to party.” To that end, the hotel is planning a centennial gala for Jan. 22 at which a documentary about the hotel’s history, narrated by actress Ali McGraw, will debut. A series of quarterly events focused on the hotel’s history will proceed throughout the year. “We’ve been known as ‘the Inn at the end of the Santa Fe Trail’ and also on the trade route from Mexico,” La Fonda Chair of the Board Jennifer Kimball tells the newspaper. “Our history is fascinating.” Other keystone events at the hotel include opening a new Terrace Inn at La Fonda, with 15 suites and rooms on the top two floors, which, among features, include three original works from Crow painter Del Curfman that were reproduced onto sheer window coverings. “We didn’t want to be part of another big hotel management company that wants to make things more uniform,” Kimball says. “We want to be able to keep it quirky and unique, and we’ve been able to do that.”
Short and sweet
SFR ends the year with the return of the 3-Minute Film Festival at 6 pm tonight in partnership with the Center for Contemporary Arts. The program features films created by local filmmakers and artists that clock in at three minutes or less, spanning a variety of genres and themes. The evening begins with a showcase of this year’s submissions and concludes with the winning films presented by the filmmakers and judges. Winners will be announced at the event. More than 65 films were submitted for the contest and those appearing on the winners’ reel that will be shown tonight cover a variety of topics, from politics to love to horror and more. Judges include SFR Culture Editor Alex De Vore, CCA Head of Cinema Programming, filmmaker and Three Sisters Collective founder Autumn Billie and Emmy-winning filmmaker, documentarian and founder of Mountain Mover Media Kaela Waldstein. Some, if not all, of the winning filmmakers will be in attendance, with short remarks from the top three winners. Tickets are $10 and CCA will keep all the ticket profit to continue its longstanding commitment to independent cinema, art and community. (Contest entry fees supported SFR journalism.) Masks plus proof of vaccination or negative test from within a max of three days required. The event will run 90 minutes or less.
Little of this, little of that
The National Weather Service forecasts a 50% percent chance of snow showers before 8 am today with accumulations of less than half an inch. The otherwise cloudy day is forecasted to become mostly sunny with a high near 38 degrees and super windy, with gusts as high as 35 mph. In other words, look for almost all possible types of weather today. It snowed overnight, so go slow this morning. Chances for snow continue into the new year.
Thanks for reading. The Word didn’t realize the world’s smallest reptile was discovered in 2021, but learned this and other fun facts in NatGeo’s roundup of the most intriguing animal news of the year.
