COVID-19 by the numbers
New Mexico health officials yesterday reported 227 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the statewide total so far to 29,661. Bernalillo County led with 53 new cases, followed by Doña Ana County with 47 and Chaves County with 40. Santa Fe County had five new cases.
The state announced five additional deaths yesterday from Bernalillo, Doña Ana, Eddy and Rio Arriba counties, as well as the seventh death from Santa Fe County; there have now been 82 fatalities. As of yesterday, 86 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, 11 of them on ventilators.
Also: While we were sleeping, President Donald Trump and Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19. You can read the White House doctor's confirmation letter here.
You can read all of SFR's COVID-19 coverage here. If you've had experiences with testing or the virus, we would like to hear from you.
Governor warns of second COVID-19 wave
With New Mexico's COVID-19 case counts and infection rates continuing to rise across all parts of the state, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and other state officials yesterday urged residents to abide by the current health orders. In an afternoon news conference, Human Services Secretary David Scrase said the state had surpassed its gating criteria of 168 or fewer new daily cases over a rolling seven-day average and hit 171; the statewide effective rate of transmission, which health officials want to hold at 1.05 or less, was at 1.27 as of Sept. 30. Describing himself as "really concerned," Scrase also said he believes the current health orders are "sufficient to control this outbreak, but in order for those directives to work, we have to follow them." Lujan Grisham pointed to increased rapid response reports for businesses, saying she believes New Mexico can avoid another wave by re-committing to wearing masks and socially distancing. "We have sacrificed so much in this state," she said "…We can't allow the sacrifices we've made for each other to be in vain."
Groups launch election hotlines
Common Cause New Mexico and ACLU New Mexico announced yesterday they have launched a nonpartisan voter protection program this year to help any voters who encounter problems. The program will include ground teams to field questions and a hotline staffed by lawyers, law students and people with legal backgrounds: 866-OUR-VOTE (888-839-8682) or 888-VE-Y-VOTA for Spanish speakers. "This year presents unprecedented challenges for voters who want to exercise their right to vote and protect their health at the same time," Common Cause Executive Director Heather Ferguson said in a statement. "New Mexicans should feel secure that they can cast their ballot in a number of different ways, and that it will be counted as cast and anyone who interferes or tampers with elections will be held accountable." ACLU of New Mexico Policy Counsel Nia Rucker said the politicized environment of the upcoming presidential election required having "trained, non-partisan observers on hand."
Public Education Secretary under fire
Lawmakers and school chiefs yesterday levied criticism at the state Public Education Department and Secretary Ryan Stewart for what they characterized as heavy-handed and erratic leadership related to COVID-19 school operations. Some members of the Legislative Finance Committee said PED has over-reached its authority, with Sen. Clemente Sanchez, D-Grants, criticizing Stewart for his absence in the spring and summer (Stewart was in Philadelphia). Last month, the New Mexico School Superintendents Association sent Stewart a letter with concerns about protocols for school re-openings; for instance, some districts say the state's requirement to rapidly overhaul school HVAC systems isn't realistic. Santa Fe Public Schools Superintendent Veronica García suggests the state form a steering committee to allow more collaboration between the state and superintendents. SFPS' school board last night approved a hybrid plan to allow some local students to begin in two weeks some in-person learning under a hybrid plan. Meanwhile, NMSSA's Executive Director Stan Rounds told the LFC an unspecified but significant number of students have simply disappeared from the education landscape across the state.
Listen up
Santa Fe Reporter writer and Report for America corpsmember Katherine Lewin joins Dave Marash on his Here & There podcast to discuss her recent story about Native American casinos, and how their closures—and recent re-openings—impact both New Mexico and tribal economies. As Lewin's story, "Game Off" reported, New Mexico has 14 tribes operating more than 25 gaming operations. Months-long closures last spring and summer mean New Mexico is already missing millions in revenue-sharing that's not likely to rebound any time soon. Lawmakers also appeared skeptical about plans to expand gaming in the state during the first hearing yesterday on a proposal to do so.
Home cooking
If home-cooking has become as much a chore as vacuuming, it may be time for some inspiration. Enter the Kitchen Meets Quarantine cookbook created by Santa Fean Hannah Day who, having lost her job, found time for a project during quarantine. "I was home with my kids, which took up a lot of energy, but I had some to spare," she tells SFR. "And while we're becoming so much more aware of the inequality that's still in our country, I felt like I had to do something." The cookbook includes Day's own recipes as well as ones from 30 or so other contributors; 100% of the proceeds made after Day recoups printing costs will benefit the Know Your Rights Camp, an organization founded by Colin Kaepernick to educate Black and Brown communities on liberation, self-empowerment and leadership. SFR has a recipe you can sample, and you can peruse the food porn on Instagram. Yearning for even more local and national food news? This week's Fork newsletter should satiate that desire.
Picture this
A forensic initiative at the University of New Mexico, the New Mexico Decedent Image Database, is racking up inquiries from hundreds of researchers across the world. The database, which became public in February, took more than 15,000 scans of dead people created by the state medical examiner between 2010 and 2017 and collated them with metadata on peoples' life and death. The work is featured in a recent Wall Street Journal article on the ways in which augmented reality is advancing forensic science. For example, according to the story, New Mexico medical examiners recently used enhanced CT scans of a large toolbox filled with concrete to locate both bullet fragments and the partial human remains of a human body inside the box.
Fall into place
Today's forecast calls for a mostly sunny day with a high near 76 degrees and east wind 5 to 15 mph becoming west in the afternoon. That's the same outlook for the weekend, except the wind will blow in different directions at various times. Sounds like perfect weather to visit Santa Fe Botanical Garden's Leonora Curtin Wetlands Preserve—remember, it closes at the end of the month.
Thanks for reading! First: The Word apologizes for yesterday's wrong date on the newsletter. No, today is not Halloween. If only! We'd be that much closer to getting through this presidential election and we'd be surrounded by candy. Until then, perhaps we should all practice voting in the Fat Bear Week bracket (America's most anticipated competition…according to the Guardian).
