artdirector@sfreporter.com
COVID-19 by the numbers
New Mexico health officials yesterday reported 2,611 new COVID-19 cases, a 44% increase from Tuesday, but a significant decrease from surge caseloads within the last few weeks that topped 6,000. The new cases bring the statewide total so far to 484,454; DOH has designated 345,884 of those cases as recovered. The statewide test positivity rate also dropped from 26.8% to 25.4% (the target is 7.5%).
Bernalillo County had 597 cases, followed by Doña Ana County with 359 and San Juan County with 248. Santa Fe County had 184 new cases, 66 in the 87507 ZIP code, which ranked eighth in the state among ZIP codes with the most new cases.
According to the state’s most recent vaccination report, over the four-week period between Jan. 3 and Jan. 31, 55.5% of COVID-19 cases were among those who have not completed their primary vaccination series, as were 77.4% of hospitalizations and 92.8% of deaths. In response to a question from SFR during yesterday’s weekly COVID-19 update, Acting Health Secretary Dr. David Scrase said DOH plans to incorporate a third metric into that report that accounts for booster shots.
The state also reported 15 additional deaths, 14 of them recent, including two from Santa Fe County: a male in his 60s who had underlying conditions and a female in her 70s who had been hospitalized and had underlying conditions. There have now been 232 deaths in Santa Fe County and 6,488 statewide. As of yesterday, 651 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, 11.5% more than the day prior.
Currently, 91.5% percent of adults 18 years and older have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 77.4% have completed their primary series. Among the same demographic, 42% have had a booster shot. In the 12-17-year-old age group, 70.3% of people have had at least one dose and 59.7% have completed their primary series. Among children ages 5-11, 35.9% have had at least one dose of the Pfizer vaccine and 24.8% have completed their primary series. In Santa Fe County, 99% of people 18 and older have had at least one dose and 86.6% 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 updated guidelines for quarantine and isolation here.
You can order free at-home COVID-19 tests here and find other testing options at findatestnm.org. The health department is offering drive-through PCR testing through Feb. 21, but schedules were disrupted yesterday due to the storm and may be disrupted again today; to find an appointment (recommended only for people with symptoms), register here.
You can read all of SFR’s COVID-19 coverage here.
Health Secretary: COVID cases, hospitalizations improving
New Mexico’s Omicron surge is on a quick descent, Acting Health Secretary Dr. David Scrase said yesterday, and hospitals are starting to experience some measure of relief. “We’re coming down fairly rapidly,” Scrase said. “We welcome it.” Scrase described himself as “optimistic” the state might experience a reprieve—a “spring break”—from the many months of battling first the Delta than the Omicron variant, noting that the case curve “will have to come way down” for hospitals to feel “real relief,” but “at least we’re heading in the right direction.” As the pandemic changes in nature, Scrase said he anticipates a “new model that occurs much more in our homes and our families” than at the health department, the state Capitol or the Human Services Department.
To that end, yesterday’s news conference emphasized a push for home testing, with Scrase encouraging everyone to ensure they had two boxes of home rapid antigen COVID-19 tests on hand for the next six months, either by ordering through the federal website or obtaining them locally. Scrase also unveiled a redesigned website where New Mexicans can search for tests, by ZIP code, in their communities (findatestnm.org). The site also shows the distribution from the state to individual counties and providers. Santa Fe County residents, however, will not find free tests for pick up just yet. According to City of Santa Fe Communications Director Dave Herndon, the county has only received tests designated for the hard-hit 87507 ZIP code, which have been distributed. The city is in the process of developing a plan to distribute tests to the general public when it receives that allotment, he said. According to Scrase, the state ordered 3 million rapid tests for distribution, has distributed 1.4 million throughout the state already, plans to distribute 400,000 more in the coming two weeks and expects the remaining 1.2 million tests to subsequently arrive in weekly shipments
Tensions persist on Harrison Road
Emotions ran high at moments during an online Tuesday night discussion with Santa Fe city officials, the Interfaith Community Shelter at Pete’s Place and the public about the shelter’s future and problems in the surrounding Harrison Road neighborhood. Mayor Alan Webber acknowledged locals’ concerns about violence, open drug use and other illegal activity in the vicinity, but cautioned against conflating homelessness and crime. “There’s a big difference between trying to help people who are homeless and dealing with people on Harrison Road who, for one reason or another, have caused problems and are in some instances breaking the law,” Webber said. Regarding the latter, the shelter no longer accepts people who camp on the street outside the property. The mayor also noted increased police bike patrols in the area and a significant number of “close patrols”—in which officers in marked cars went to the area and looked for “suspicious activity”—on Harrison Road. Residents nonetheless say they have yet to see improvements, with one woman suggesting the city move people out of town to address the situation. Shelter Executive Director Korina Lopez responded with a plea to avoid dehumanizing unhoused people, saying: “Out of sight, out of mind does not really address this situation. Again, I’m not insensitive to the idea that, especially if you’re living in the area, you have property in the area, that’s important. But we have to remember that these people are also human beings. They’re sons and daughters, aunts, uncles.”
State Senate confirms PED Secretary Steinhaus
The state Senate yesterday confirmed Kurt Steinhaus as cabinet secretary for the New Mexico Public Education Department. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham appointed Steinhaus, 67, last August after Ryan Stewart resigned. The floor vote was 37-4 following a 9-2 vote earlier in the day by the Senate Rules Committee. “It’s an awesome opportunity to help provide leadership across New Mexico. It’s a job I’ve been working toward my whole career,” Steinhaus said in a statement. A news announcement of Steinhaus’ confirmation cited his accomplishments in the last six months to include launching New Mexico’s Year of Literacy; working with tribal leaders on the state’s response to the Martinez-Yazzie consolidated lawsuit; creating advisory programs for teachers and community members; and addressing PED’s vacancy gap by filling 33 empty positions. Steinhaus in his statement said his goals as secretary “are to involve teachers, other education leaders, tribal leaders, the Legislature, students and universities as partners in identifying the path forward and in measuring progress” and to “establish a broad-based coalition to support every single child in the areas of well-being and academic achievement.”
Aide: Sen. Luján expected back at work in four to six weeks
A senior aide to US Sen. Ben Ray Luján tells SFR that Luján could return to work in four to six weeks if his recovery goes as expected. Luján’s office on Tuesday announced the 49-year-old senator had begun experiencing dizziness and fatigue the previous Thursday and had subsequently checked himself into Christus St. Vincent Regional Hospital. He was then transferred to University of New Mexico Hospital where he was found to have suffered a stroke in the cerebellum, affecting his balance. As part of his treatment plan, he then had decompressive surgery to ease swelling and remains at UNM “resting comfortably,” according to a statement from Luján’s Chief of Staff Carlos Sanchez. His absence from the Senate—where the chamber is evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, with Vice President Kamala Harris holding the tie-breaking vote—has provoked speculation about the prospects for President Joe Biden’s nominations, particularly to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. Luján’s aide notes that with a potential successor not yet named, the four to six week recovery time “should give [Luján] ample time” to return to the US Senate for that vote. The Washington Post reports that “one consolation for Democrats is that Luján does not sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee,” which will vet Breyer’s replacement. But Luján’s sudden absence from the Senate, the Post adds, has left “Democrats pondering the fragility of their governing majority.” As Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told the paper: “I will be just really blunt: What’s on my mind in this situation is that it could have been any one of us. The good news is he seems to be recovering well, and he’ll be back. But in an evenly divided Senate, every one of us is indispensable.”
Listen up
While the current winter weather makes the prospect of summer fun (and attire) seem like a distant, taunting mirage, Santa Fe’s warmer season will arrive and, with it, the beloved AMP Concerts summer series. For 2022, AMP has created what it’s calling the Santa Fe Summer Scene and added the month of June to the series, with shows at the Plaza and Railyard starting June 9 and running through Sept. 1. AMP has just posted a call for musicians to apply to perform (details here) and, to get us all into the mood, be sure to check out this video compilation of previous live concerts from the series. While you’re at it, might as well take a deep dive into AMP’s archive of all the great shows from last summer’s Plaza series.
NM’s Paralympic trailblazer
Sports Illustrated features Farmington native Alana Nichols, the first woman to win gold at both the Winter and Summer Paralympics. Nichols was paralyzed in 2000 after a snowboarding accident. An active athlete before her accident, Nichols says she felt “alone and isolated” after she became disabled, until she learned about wheelchair basketball while attending the University of New Mexico. She earned an alternate spot on the US Paralympic team in the 2004 Athens Games, and four years later the squad won a gold medal. From there, Nichols began training for adaptive skiing and went on to win several medals, including two golds, in the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. Since then, she’s picked up adaptive kayaking, as well. While Nichols isn’t competing these days, she’s begun surfing and is working to introduce that sport to the Paralympics by 2028. “I know there is a huge interest, because we have a world championship event that has over 90 athletes from over 30 countries,” Nichols tells Sports Illustrated. “We are growing and we need more women.”
Love bites
Taos restaurant The Love Apple makes the list for Mashed’s roundup of the country’s most romantic restaurants, coming in at number 10. The restaurant, the story notes, is housed in the 19th-century Placitas Chapel and occasionally serves as a wedding venue. One Tripadvisor user, in fact, had both her wedding and reception at the restaurant and complimented its “beautiful scenery” and “vintage charm,” saying the “owner and Love Apple team made sure we had everything we needed and treated us with so much love and respect” and the “guests said it was the best wedding food they’ve ever had.” The Love Apple has a seasonally changing menu and relies on locally grown ingredients to the greatest extent possible. In the spring, the restaurant says it is “all abloom with fresh cut flowers and produce,” and “adorned” with winter squash and candles in the fall and winter. Speaking of romance and the pending Feb. 14 Valentine’s Day holiday, Candystore.com has an interactive map of each state’s favorite Valentine’s candy (candy-buying is expected to hit a record-high this year, they claim). New Mexico’s favorite V-day candy is a heart-shaped box of chocolates, followed by chocolate roses and candy necklaces in second and third place, respectively.
ChARTing February
The City of Santa Fe’s CHART project (Culture, History, Art, Reconciliation and Truth) will be holding several online public dialogue sessions in February on the theme of “Equity in Santa Fe.” To participate, residents of the city and county of Santa Fe can register here to submit their preferred days, times and locations. All participants for each session must be pre-registered; the sessions are free and open to the public. CHART also is inviting organizations to host dialogues for their members and/or clients with the assistance of the project team; interested organizations can get in touch about doing so here. SFR recently spoke with Valerie Martinez, founder of Artful Life, which is facilitating the CHART process, who says organizers have already gathered the equivalent “of a 300-page book, single-spaced, in terms of data” from surveys proceeding the public dialogue sessions, which will help inform the forthcoming monthly discussion topics. There also will be other types of events and “lots of ways for people to participate.”
Tip of the iceberg
Yesterday’s storm provided a fair share of traffic wrecks around the state and, given the bitter temperatures, Santa Fe’s roads are likely to be icy at best, treacherous at worst, this morning. Due to icy road conditions and low temperatures across the Santa Fe Public Schools district, all SFPS schools are closed today. This is not a remote learning day. All after-school and evening activities are canceled as well. The city says crews have been working throughout the storm to keep priority roads clear. You can view the city’s snow removal plans here. Updated at 9:30 am: All city offices, libraries and recreation centers are closed today as well. As for today’s weather, the snow part of it appears to be done in the area. The cold, not so much. The National Weather Service says today will be partly sunny, with a high near 22 degrees and wind chill values as low as -10.
Thanks for reading! The Word can’t wait to read John McPhee’s new essay on writing.
