New Mexico COVID-19 Cases: 15,291

Health officials report 264 new cases, three more deaths as modified health order goes into effect

By Julia Goldberg

New Mexico health officials today reported 264 new positive test results for COVID-19, bringing the state total thus far to 15,291. The health department has designated 6,363 of those cases as recovered.

Doña Ana County led with new cases today: 82 of them, followed by Bernalillo County with 59. McKinley and San Juan counties had 24 and 21 new cases, respectively.

Santa Fe County had three new cases, bringing the total here so far to 341, of which 152 have been designated as recovered by the health department.

The state also announced three additional deaths from Chaves, McKinley and San Juan counties. There have now been 548 fatalities. As of today, 172 people are hospitalized.*

The newest figures arrive as a modified public health order takes effect, re-closing indoor dining at restaurants, limiting state parks to New Mexico residents and requiring masks be worn during exercise. A news release on the modified public health order notes over the past two weeks, "the state has seen 3,049 new positive cases of COVID-19, representing 20.2% of the total positive cases statewide over the course of the pandemic," a trend similar to "frightening upticks creating health care and hospital resource shortages in neighboring states and across the country." The modified mask order for all public places now includes people exercising at indoor gyms and fitness centers. It also includes outdoor exercise such as hiking, running, walking and bicycling.

"We knew when we began our methodical reopening process that we would be introducing risk, and to counter that risk we would all have to amend our behavior and take every individual precaution to begin to live in a COVID-positive world and sustain that process," Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement. "Unfortunately, our state's dramatically rising case numbers reflect that those behavior modifications and precautions have either not been taken seriously or taken up by enough people."

The governor also spoke with The Washington Post this morning about the need to wear face masks in the absence of a vaccine for COVID-19. New Mexicans, the governor noted, "don't like it, I would say overall. They have been disappointed that I've mandated [it]…but I can tell you…we're seeing dramatic increases in the number of people wearing masks all the time." Lujan Grisham acknowledged that, as in other parts of the country, some law enforcement agencies have pushed back against enforcing the law.

"People are treating this pandemic as a political situation," she said. "It is not a political situation. It does not care if you're Republican, Democrat, young or old, whether you're independent or decline to state. It does not care at all about its hosts. It will attack you indiscriminately."

New cases

  • 59 new cases in Bernalillo County
  • 17 new cases in Chaves County
  • 2 new cases in Cibola County
  • 11 new cases in Curry County
  • 82 new cases in Doña Ana County
  • 4 new cases in Eddy County
  • 2 new cases in Grant County
  • 2 new new cases in Hidalgo County
  • 5 new cases in Lea County
  • 6 new cases in Luna County
  • 24 new cases in McKinley County
  • 2 new cases in Otero County
  • 9 new cases in Sandoval County
  • 21 new cases in San Juan County
  • 1 new case in San Miguel County
  • 3 new cases in Santa Fe County
  • 2 new cases in Sierra County
  • 2 new cases in Socorro County
  • 4 new cases in Taos County
  • 6 new cases in Valencia County

New fatalities

  • A female in her 80s from Chaves County who was hospitalized, had underlying conditions and was a patient at  Spanish Trails Rehabilitation Suites facility in Albuquerque
  • A female in her 50s from McKinley County
  • A male in his 90s from San Juan County who had no underlying conditions and was a resident of Crane’s Roost Care Home facility in Aztec (ed note: A state press release was issued July 14 to note that this man did, in fact, have underlying conditions).

Congregate facilities

The Department of Health has identified at least one positive COVID-19 case in residents and/or staff in the past 28 days at the following facilities:

  • The Adobe in Las Cruces
  • The Aristocrat Assisted Living Center in Alamogordo
  • Advanced Health Care of Albuquerque in Albuquerque
  • Albuquerque Heights Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Albuquerque
  • BeeHive Homes of Farmington in Farmington
  • Bloomfield Nursing and Rehabilitation in Bloomfield
  • Blue Horizon Assisted Living in Las Cruces
  • Bonney Family Home in Gallup
  • Brookdale Juan Tabo Place in Albuquerque
  • Camino Healthcare in Albuquerque
  • Casa del Sol Center in Las Cruces
  • Casa de Oro Center in Las Cruces
  • Casa Real in Santa Fe
  • Crane’s Roost Care Home in Aztec
  • Desert Springs Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Hobbs
  • Good Samaritan Society in Grants
  • Little Sisters of the Poor in Gallup
  • Mimbres Memorial Nursing Home in Deming
  • The Neighborhood in Rio Rancho
  • Princeton Place in Albuquerque
  • Red Rocks Care Center in Gallup
  • Retirement Ranches, Inc. in Clovis
  • The Rio at Las Estancias in Albuquerque
  • Rio Rancho Center in Rio Rancho
  • Sagecrest Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Las Cruces
  • Sandia Ridge Center in Albuquerque
  • Sombrillo Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Los Alamos
  • Sierra Health Care Center, Inc. in Truth or Consequences
  • Spanish Trails Rehabilitation Suites in Albuquerque
  • The Village at Northrise in Las Cruces
  • Welbrook Senior Living Las Cruces in Las Cruces

Statewide cases

According to a state news release, previously reported numbers included one case that was a duplicate in San Juan County, which has been corrected. County totals are subject to change upon further investigation and determination of residency of individuals positive for COVID-19.

  • Bernalillo County: 3,134
  • Catron County: 3
  • Chaves County: 179
  • Cibola County: 251
  • Colfax County: 9
  • Curry County: 262
  • Doña Ana County: 1,487
  • Eddy County: 144
  • Grant County: 35
  • Guadalupe County: 20
  • Harding County: 1
  • Hidalgo County: 74
  • Lea County: 285
  • Lincoln County: 24
  • Los Alamos County: 12
  • Luna County: 128
  • McKinley County: 3,657
  • Mora County: 3
  • Otero County: 79
  • Quay County: 16
  • Rio Arriba County: 139
  • Roosevelt County: 79
  • Sandoval County: 847
  • San Juan County: 2,731
  • San Miguel County: 27
  • Santa Fe County: 341
  • Sierra County: 16
  • Socorro County: 66
  • Taos County: 57
  • Torrance County: 49
  • Union County: 8
  • Valencia County: 192

Cases among people being held by federal agencies

  • Cibola County Correctional Center: 2
  • Otero County Prison Facility: 275
  • Otero County Processing Center: 149
  • Torrance County Detention Facility: 43

Cases among people being held by the Mexico Department of Corrections

  • Central New Mexico Correctional Facility in Valencia County: 7
  • Northwest New Mexico Correctional Center in Cibola County: 1
  • Otero County Prison Facility: 458
  • Penitentiary of New Mexico in Santa Fe County: 1

*Per the health department, hospitalization figures include people who were tested elsewhere but are hospitalized in New Mexico, but don't include people who were tested here but are hospitalized out of state.

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