New Mexico Reports 154 New COVID-19 Cases and Five More Deaths

Public Education Department announces eight more cases among staff and students across the state

By Julia Goldberg

New Mexico health officials today reported 154 new positive test results for COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases here so far to 27,350.

Bernalillo County led with 30 new cases, followed by Doña Ana and Lea counties each with 17 and Eddy County with 15. Santa Fe County had seven new cases today.

The Public Education Department today reported eight new positive cases across the state, including five cases at a school in Roosevelt County: three students and two staff members. Public schools in Lea and Chaves counties each reported one positive case of a staff member; a Torrance County public school had one student who tested positive.

The state also announced five new deaths from Chaves, McKinley, Eddy and San Juan counties; there have now been 841 fatalities.

As of today, 72 people are hospitalized with COVID-19.*

The new numbers follow Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's announcement yesterday of adjustments to the public health order—in effect through mid-October—to allow additional fall activities, such as youth sports conditioning and skills development.

The state education department also reported today four more counties—McKinley, Hidalgo, Doña Ana and Curry—have met the criteria for reopening schools with acceptable rates of daily case counts and test positivity rates. Specifically, counties must have average daily cases under 8 per 100,000 and test positivity rates under 5%.

Catron County, which was in the "green" zone two weeks ago has turned "red" (meaning it no longer meets either criteria). However, according to a Public Education Department news release, reopened schools in Catron County will not be required to close as the state hopes to avoid opening and closing schools.

Instead, both PED and the health department "will continue to closely monitor conditions in the county. Should those worsen to a point where public health officials determine a closure is necessary, schools will be notified and given a window of time in which they can complete an orderly transition back to remote learning," the news release said.

The health department updates its average daily case rates and test positivity rates every two weeks. According to PED, 25 counties were in the green zone on Sept. 3 and since then, approximately 65 elementary schools with about 12,500 students have reopened in the hybrid mode.

New cases

  • 30 new cases in Bernalillo County
  • 13 new cases in Chaves County
  • 1 new case in Colfax County
  • 7 new cases in Curry County
  • 17 new cases in Doña Ana County
  • 15 new cases in Eddy County
  • 9 new cases in Grant County
  • 1 new case in Guadalupe County
  • 17 new cases in Lea County
  • 2 new cases in Los Alamos County
  • 7 new cases in Luna County
  • 2 new cases in McKinley County
  • 2 new cases in Otero County
  • 1 new case in Quay County
  • 1 new case in Rio Arriba County
  • 5 new cases in Roosevelt County
  • 3 new cases in Sandoval County
  • 2 new cases in San Juan County
  • 2 new cases in San Miguel County
  • 7 new cases in Santa Fe County
  • 1 new case in Sierra County
  • 1 new case in Taos County
  • 7 new cases in Valencia County
  • 1 new case among New Mexico Corrections Department inmates at the Central New Mexico Correctional Facility in Valencia County

New fatalities

  • A male in his 70s from Chaves County who had underlying conditions and was a resident of Casa Maria Health Care Center in Roswell
  • A female in her 80s from Eddy County who had underlying conditions
  • A male in his 40s from McKinley County
  • A female in her 80s from McKinley County who had underlying conditions and was a resident of Red Rocks Care Center in Gallup
  • A male in his 80s from San Juan County who had underlying conditions and was a resident of Broomfield Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

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:

  • Albuquerque Heights Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Albuquerque
  • Aristocrat Assisted Living in Las Cruces
  • Avamere at Rio Rancho
  • Avamere at Roswell
  • Bear Canyon Rehabilitation Center in Albuquerque
  • Belen Meadows Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Belen
  • Brookdale Santa Fe
  • Camino Healthcare in Albuquerque
  • Casa de Oro Center in Las Cruces
  • Casa Maria Health Care Center in Roswell
  • Fort Bayard Medical Center in Santa Clara
  • Good Life Senior Living in Lovington
  • Good Samaritan Society Las Cruces
  • Good Samaritan Society Socorro
  • Heartfelt Manor in Roswell
  • Heritage Assisted Living in Las Cruces
  • Lakeview Christian Home in Carlsbad
  • Las Palomas Center in Albuquerque
  • Lovington Healthcare in Lovington
  • Mescalero Care Center in Mescalero
  • Mission Arch Center in Roswell
  • Pacifica Senior Living in Santa Fe
  • Princeton Place in Albuquerque
  • Red Rocks Care Center in Gallup
  • Retirement Ranches in Clovis
  • The Rio at Las Estancias in Albuquerque
  • Sagecrest Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Las Cruces
  • Sandia Ridge Center in Albuquerque
  • Silver City Care Center in Silver City
  • Sunny Day Assisted Living in Gallup
  • Sunset Villa Nursing Home in Roswell
  • Village Retirement Community in Roswell
  • Welbrook Senior Living Las Cruces
  • Wheatfields Senior Living in Clovis

Statewide cases

According to a state news release, previously reported numbers included three cases that have been identified as out-of-state residents: two in Bernalillo County, and one in Cibola County; these have now been corrected. County totals are subject to change upon further investigation and determination of residency of individuals positive for COVID-19.

  • Bernalillo County: 6,172
  • Catron County: 9
  • Chaves County: 1004
  • Cibola County: 404
  • Colfax County: 27
  • Curry County: 737
  • De Baca County: 1
  • Doña Ana County: 3,085
  • Eddy County: 670
  • Grant County: 109
  • Guadalupe County: 34
  • Harding County: 2
  • Hidalgo County: 99
  • Lea County: 1,316
  • Lincoln County: 180
  • Los Alamos County: 31
  • Luna County: 395
  • McKinley County: 4,290
  • Mora County: 7
  • Otero County: 245
  • Quay County: 71
  • Rio Arriba County: 382
  • Roosevelt County: 258
  • Sandoval County: 1,311
  • San Juan County: 3,248
  • San Miguel County: 93
  • Santa Fe County: 939
  • Sierra County: 41
  • Socorro County: 82
  • Taos County: 129
  • Torrance County: 64
  • Union County: 31
  • Valencia County: 541

Cases among people being held by federal agencies

  • Cibola County Correctional Center: 324
  • Otero County Prison Facility: 281
  • Otero County Processing Center: 163
  • Torrance County Detention Facility: 44

Cases among people being held by the New Mexico Department of Corrections

  • Central New Mexico Correctional Facility in Valencia County: 33
  • Lea County Correctional Facility: 19
  • Northeast New Mexico Correctional Facility in Union County: 1
  • Northwest New Mexico Correctional Center in Cibola County: 1
  • Otero County Prison Facility: 472
  • Penitentiary of New Mexico in Santa Fe County: 1
  • Western New Mexico Correctional Facility in Cibola County: 4

*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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