New Mexico Warns Against Fake COVID-19 Vaccination Cards

COVID-19 by the numbers

New Mexico health officials on Friday reported 798 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number to 218,569; DOH has designated 198,398 of those cases as recovered. Bernalillo County had 197 new cases, followed by Lea County with 104 and Eddy County with 83. Santa Fe County had 28 new cases.

The state also announced five additional deaths; there have now been 4,446 fatalities. As of Friday, 296 people were hospitalized with COVID-19. The health department is expected to provide a three-day update on cases, fatalities and hospitalizations this afternoon.

With rising case counts and increasingly crowded hospitals, DOH on Friday issued a call for nurses and anyone with a medical license—including recently retired health care personnel with active licenses—to volunteer with the Medical Reserve Corps. “Our modeling is predicting that New Mexico will see over 1,000 cases per day in the next several weeks,” DOH Acting Secretary Dr. David Scrase said in a statement. “To get through this together, we need everyone who can provide patient care to work side by side with us during this critical time.”

Currently, among adult New Mexicans 18 years and older, 74.6% of New Mexicans have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 65.7% are fully vaccinated. Among those between the ages of 12 and 17, 54.2% have had at least one dose and 41.6% are fully vaccinated. In Santa Fe County, 18 years and older, 86.1% are partially vaccinated and 76.2% are fully inoculated. Throughout August, New Mexicans who receive a COVID-19 vaccine are eligible for a $100 incentive.

You can read all of SFR’s COVID-19 coverage here.

DOH: Fake vax cards illegal

Surging COVID-19 cases via the highly transmissible Delta variant has spurred “a cottage industry” of fake vaccination cards, the state health department says, “which some unscrupulous individuals who refuse to be vaccinated are using to avoid face mask requirements or other COVID safety protocols.” As such, DOH issued a warning on Friday: Violations of the Public Health Orders or the New Mexico Public Health Act can carry fines of up to $5,000 per violation and up to six months in jail, while making or using fake vaccination cards that include the unauthorized use of the seal of an official government agency is a federal crime. Anyone who suspects fraudulent use of a vaccination card can report it to DOH at 1-833-551-0518 or online. Reports will be forwarded to law enforcement for investigation/enforcement. “This national trend of providing imitation vaccination cards is dangerous, and it’s carelessly placing countless New Mexicans at risk,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement. “Don’t do it. If you do, New Mexico law enforcement and criminal justice agencies are poised to address that behavior with the full weight of the law.”

At the start of August, Lujan Grisham began requiring state employees to be either fully vaccinated or show a negative COVID-19 test at least once every two weeks. State and local officials then issued a public letter to businesses Aug. 6 urging them to implement vaccination policies. The University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University did so: Both require vaccination requirements for students, faculty and staff. In Santa Fe, the Lensic Performing Arts Center will start requiring proof of vaccination or a negative test on Aug. 24 and AMP Concerts also recently announced it will be requiring proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID test at several upcoming shows. On Friday, Meow Wolf also announced (effective yesterday) that attendees wear masks throughout its exhibitions, regardless of vaccination status, and that all event attendees at House of Eternal Return in Santa Fe show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test taken within 48 hours of the event.

Multi-cultural mural heading for meditation

The fate of Gilberto Guzman’s Multi-Cultural mural on the corner of Guadalupe Street and Montezuma Avenue remains in flux, with mediation scheduled for tomorrow between the artist and the state Department of Cultural Affairs, which plans to remove the mural as part of the construction the Vladem Contemporary, a branch of the New Mexico Museum of Art. A US District Court judge denied the department’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, as well as Guzman’s motion for supplemental pleadings. For his part, Guzman says he’s asking to restore the mural, and says he will provide the funding to do so. Daniel Zillmann, a DCA spokesman, told the Albuquerque Journal he won’t comment on pending litigation, but confirmed both the Tuesday mediation, as well as the department’s commitment to remove the mural. “Santa Fe is a community that has had a strong connection to its art and culture for centuries,” he told the Journal. “The New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs acknowledges the emotions connected with the multicultural mural and the opinions of some community members who would like to see the mural preserved.”

Gov declares state of emergency in Doña Ana

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham yesterday signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency in Doña Ana County. The move comes following severe flooding, mandatory evacuations and loss of water supplies in some areas. Evacuees from the hard-hit La Union area were allowed to return home yesterday. The emergency declaration also could make local areas within the county eligible for state assistance. “Given the events of Aug. 12 in the Colonia of La Union, it is imperative we pull together to gather the necessary resources to help mitigate the effects of anticipated rainfall,” Doña Ana County Sherriff Kim Stewart said in a statement. “This declaration will help us partner more effectively with the state’s resources in hopes of protecting all citizens and first responders throughout this emergency.” Some portions of the area remain under mandatory evacuation, officials said Sunday, with the Las Cruces Sun News writing that “the nearly 100-year flood destroyed roads, sunk vehicles and likely altered lives and livelihoods within the agricultural village located north of Santa Teresa and west of Canutillo, Texas.”

Listen up

The City of Santa Fe’s municipal election doesn’t take place until Nov. 2, but the deadline for privately funded candidates to file their nominating petitions swiftly approaches (Aug. 24). In the three-way mayor’s race, KSFR has online interviews with two of the three candidates. City Councilor JoAnne Vigil Coppler spoke about transparency, financial accountability and affordable housing (among other topics). Topics for Alexis Martinez Johnson, a former Republican candidate in the 3rd Congressional District (municipal elections are non-partisan) included her background as an environmental engineer; her priority on safety; and her views on homelessness. Both Coppler and Martinez Johnson are challenging incumbent Mayor Alan Webber.

Santa Fe Symphony installs new ED

The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus on Friday announced it has a new executive director: Emma Scherer. “It’s a real honor, especially with all of these talented musicians,” Scherer tells SFR. “I’ve really enjoyed this whole process. The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus is a very special organization—these kind of large scale performances really can’t be matched.” Scherer succeeds Daniel M. Crupi, who left at the end of the last season to join the Asheville Symphony. She previously worked at the Santa Fe Opera managing the executive office and board relations under General Director Charles MacKay and, since 2018, has managed operations at the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Scherer says she intends to raise the symphony’s profile, among other goals. “This is an orchestra made up of New Mexico musicians,” she notes. “I don’t want the public to think of us as just another orchestra, I want them to think of us as Santa Fe’s symphony and orchestra.” The symphony’s new season launches Sept. 12 at the Lensic Performing Arts Center.

Columnist advocates for NM income experiments

Bloomberg opinion columnist Noah Smith writes that “New Mexico could lead the way” in experimenting with universal basic income, following state legislators’ recent consideration of the topic. Lawmakers on the Revenue Stabilization & Tax Policy Committee heard presentations last week on various iterations of “guaranteed income,” aka regular payments to community members without work requirements or other stipulations. These included a presentation from Madeleine Leighly, director of guaranteed income for the Economic Security Project, which very simply advocates that “cash is one of the most direct and effective ways to provide financial stability to those who most need it.” Las Cruces City Councilor Johana Bencomo also discussed that city’s pilot project, which may become a reality soon. And Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber talked about Santa Fe and Santa Fe Community College’s joint initiative, which will provide 100 student-parents enrolled at SFCC with $400 a month for a year, via the Mayors for a Guaranteed Income Project. States, Smith writes, make the perfect laboratory for trying new and “scaled-down” iterations of basic universal income experiments, “Unlike cities, they have the money to carry out these experiments at a truly universal level; Stockton or Santa Fe can hand out money to a few people, with the help of private foundations, but states have far deeper pockets.” If New Mexico doesn’t move forward, he concludes, “other states should try it. Then, if a universal basic income is shown to have unambiguously positive results at the state level, it can more easily be scaled up to a national program. This is too important of an idea to leave it untested yet again.”

A little rain must fall

According to the National Weather Service, Santa Fe has a 60% chance for precipitation today, with showers and thunderstorms after 3 pm. Otherwise, it should be partly sunny, with a high near 79 degrees and northeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon.

Thanks for reading! The Word was happy, if unsurprised, to see a New Mexico monument (Tent Rocks) among the images in the Atlantic’s tribute to retired Bureau of Land Management photographer Bob Wick.