artdirector@sfreporter.com
COVID-19 by the numbers
The state health department yesterday reported 1,371 new COVID-19 cases, a 71.5% increase over the day prior. There have now been 347,831 total cases; DOH has designated 302,325 of them as recovered. Bernalillo County had 407 new cases, followed by Doña Ana County with 205 and Santa Fe County with 85. The seven-day statewide test positivity continues rise, from 11.2% to 11.9%; the state’s target rate is 7.5%.
The state also announced 33 new deaths, 23 of them recent, including a male in his 60s from Santa Fe County with 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 60s who had been hospitalized and had underlying conditions. There have now been 200 fatalities in Santa Fe County and 5,829 statewide. As of yesterday, 471 people were hospitalized with COVID-19.
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, 88.7% 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, 34.3% have had a booster shot. In the 12-17-year-old age group, 66.6% of people have had at least one dose and 57.1% are fully inoculated. Among children ages 5-11, 27% have had at least one dose of the Pfizer vaccine and 15.8% 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.
The City of Santa Fe will be hosting a Moderna vaccination event from 10 am to 3 pm today at the Midtown Public Safety Building. Anyone 18 years or older who received their initial vaccinations with any of the approved vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna and J and J) can take a Moderna booster. It is recommended for people to register on the DOH website, but walk-ups will be able to receive shots. Bring vaccination card and photo ID. Find directions here.
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.
DOH reports new Omicron cases, Delta still dominant
DOH yesterday updated its weekly Variants of Concern report, reporting the number of sequenced cases with the Omicron variant here has grown from one to four (the state sequences a small portion of cases for sequencing). Of those four cases, two were breakthrough infections (occurring among vaccinated people). All four were matched to specific people. While the first case, announced Dec. 12, took place in Bernalillo County, the report notes that Omicron cases will not be announced in specific counties until “a threshold of 10 patients have been reached to protect patient anonymity.” For now, Delta remains the dominant variant in the state, although health officials say they expect that to shift in the future. Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center officials said yesterday the majority of cases they are seeing currently are, indeed, the Delta variant, but they expect the Omicron variant to spread locally in the coming weeks and months. The officials participated in a discussion of COVID-19 with Mayor Alan Webber, and said they experienced a spike in admissions the week after Thanksgiving and expect more after Christmas and New Year socializing, among other topics. Watch the whole talk here.
Lastly, DOH yesterday said it plans to adopt the recent—and somewhat controversial—revised guidelines for quarantine and isolation for people who have been exposed to or contracted COVID-19. According to a news release, the state is “currently evaluating potential timeline for implementation” of those guidelines. In brief, the new guidelines halved quarantine and isolation times to five days, followed by five days of strict mask use, for asymptomatic people. Read the complete revised guidelines here.
Gov signs House redistricting bill
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham yesterday signed House Bill 8, redistricting legislation that prompted outcry from Republicans during the special session earlier this month. The Albuquerque Journal reports 12 House seats are likely to be competitive and have only 5 percentage points separating Democrats and Republicans, according to redistricting contractor Research & Polling’s analysis of voting trends over the last decade. “This is a sound map that is representative and respectful of New Mexico’s varied communities of interest and will, I believe, ensure that the will of the people will continue to be done in that chamber,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement. The governor has not yet signed Senate Bill 2, redistricting legislation for the state Senate that also prompted a fair amount of rancor. The governor’s communications director, Tripp Stelnicki, writes via email that legislation’s fate is currently uncertain: “I don’t know when or if she will sign the Senate map, but action is not imminent. Final decision TBD, still under discussion. She has until noon on Jan. 6 to act on that one.” The governor previously signed House Bill 9, redistricting legislation for the Public Education Commission districts; and Senate Bill 1, which redraws the boundaries for the state’s three Congressional districts.
Local government winds up the year
The City of Santa Fe will hold its inauguration for 2022 at 9:30 am this morning, swearing in Mayor Alan Webber and City Councilors Signe Lindell (District 1), Carol Romero Wirth (2), Lee Garcia (3) and Amanda Chavez (4). All City of Santa Fe offices close at noon today (tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, in case you’ve lost track of time) and will reopen on Monday, Jan. 3 (Santa Fe County offices are closed all day). The public libraries close today at 1 pm, and LaFarge Library will have special curbside hours from 10 am to 1 pm. Santa Fe Trails and Santa Fe Ride will be on a regular schedule today and tomorrow, but will not have service on Saturday, Jan. 1. Trash and recycling will continue on their regular schedules today and tomorrow. Both the Genoveva Chavez Community Center and Fort Marcy Recreational Center close at noon today and don’t reopen until Monday morning. Santa Fe County offices are closed all day today and through the weekend. You can find all the details on the city’s holiday schedule, as well as information on how to recycle your Christmas tree, here.
Listen up
ICYMI, the Growing Forward podcast wrapped up its third season right before Christmas with an interview with Kristen Thomson, the Cannabis Control Division’s first director. Hosts Andy Lyman and Megan Kamerick talk to Thomson about her years in the industry—primarily in Colorado as a lobbyist—why she wanted the job and how she intends to avoid potential conflicts of interest from her previous work. The episode also touches on a variety of other issues related to the industry in advance of adult sales next year, including water and a new loan program for cannabis micro-businesses.
The way we were
We’ve spent the year, in part, documenting those times New Mexico gains notice from national newspapers and magazines, and we’re happy to see the state appear on at least a few top 10 end-of-the-year lists. For example, Forbes’ roundup of 10 favorite restaurants includes Bar Castañeda Las Vegas: “The dishes mix local classics, fresh interpretations, locally raised meats and seasonal produce—and there, in the desert, an improbably tasty fish and chips.” New York Times “At Home and Away” newsletter Art Director Jaspal Riyait lists New Mexico, overall, as one of his “best” take-aways from 2021: “For the first time in a while, I took a real, get-on-a-plane vacation,” Riyait says. “I had forgotten how much I enjoyed being in a completely different landscape. It was exhilarating to say the least.” And Smithsonian Magazine includes a study in Science that dated footprints found at White Sands National Park to between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago as one of its top 10 most significant science studies of the year (those prehistoric footprints also made artnet’s list of its 15 most popular stories of the year). We got a little nostalgic ourselves and looked back at a year’s worth of “Morning Word” newsletters and made a little 12-question news quiz if you’d like to test your memory (these aren’t all necessarily the top stories of the year, just random stories that stuck with us). We’ll randomly choose a successful quiz participant to receive a free six-month home delivery of SFR; provide your email in the quiz if you’d like to be considered (you don’t have to provide it otherwise; we are not collecting emails here, just having a little fun).
Count down…
On the one hand, it’s freezing and we’re still in a pandemic. On the other hand, tomorrow is New Year’s Eve and maybe you’d like to celebrate? For the early birds, the Lensic Performing Arts Center hosts its traditional New Year’s Eve celebration: Longtime Santa Fean Joe Illick, artistic director of the Fort Worth Opera, will lead an all-star orchestra in a program featuring works by Sibelius, Mozart and Beethoven. If you’re planning to venture forth once the sun sets, bundle up and head to the Plaza for the Official Burning of Zozobra’s free family-friendly event starting at 8 pm. Bonfires? Check. Plus: music with Manzanares, Sol Fire and Theo Kutsko, capped up with a rising Zia and fireworks at midnight. You might also hit Chile Line Brewery for a dance party kicking off at 8 pm and/or Detroit Lightning at Tumbleroot Brewery and Distillery around the same time. (Meow Wolf’s Carousel event at 10 pm appears to be sold out, but hey, maybe you know someone who can hook you up? And, yes, its Denver event also is sold out, but for consolation you can watch this new documentary short from Meow Wolf about the Denver installation). You can find the deets on these and other events tomorrow night and into the weekend in the current SFR Picks, as well as our calendar. Want to stay home with libations, a cat and a Netflix queue? No judgment.
Winter weather watch
Today should be partly sunny with a high near 39 degrees and north wind 10 to 20 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Chances for snow start tonight, with the National Weather Service forecasting a 30% chance overnight, segueing into an 80% chance come Friday morning, with a mix of rain and snow. A 90% chance for snow on New Year’s Eve, and potentially more snow (a 40%) chance on New Year’s Day. We’ll take the snow, but be safe out there, Santa Fe.
Thanks for reading! The Word will be subsumed constructing her New Year’s resolution list for the next several days and will return to her scribe duties on Monday, Jan. 3, 2022. Perhaps this is a good poem with which to start the year?
