NM Reports 110 New Cases, Three Deaths

Health officials note an uptick in cases and urge continued vigilance as schools reopen

New Mexico's effective rate of transmission has risen to 1.11, just above the gating criteria of 1.05 or less set by health officials. That uptick tracks with a slight increase in cases, Human Services Secretary David Scrase said today during a public update on COVID-19.

"We always say…as we reopen things, we are going to see more cases; as we see more cases, that will mean a slight uptick. We're watching it real closely," he said, adding that officials expected cases to rise as more of the economy re-opens and some schools return part-time to school.

"We thought it would go up," he said. "The question is: What will it do in the next week or two? If it continues to go up, we'll have to figure out how to respond to that."

The state is meeting the other seven gating criteria.

Current figures likely don't yet reflect school re-openings, however. Scrase said he "declined to pick" one cause for increases in cases, although Labor Day activity was "in the back of my head."

Scrase and Acting State Epidemiologist Chad Smelser provided a detailed look at COVID-19 data during the briefing, with Smelser noting that travel had remained a consistent activity cited by people testing positive who report their activities.

"People moving around and people interacting person-to-person leads to more transmission," Smelser said, "so whenever you do re-open, we do expect to see more cases. The question is—and it's not an easy question to answer—when does it become a point at which you want to further restrict [activities]. We don't take that lightly."

New Mexico health officials today reported 110 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the statewide total thus far to 27,790.

Bernalillo County led with new cases: 21 of them, followed by Doña Ana County with 18 and Eddy County with 14. Santa Fe County had three new cases.

The state also announced three additional deaths from Bernalillo, Eddy and Santa Fe counties—the seventh case here; there have now been 854 fatalities. As of today, 69 people are hospitalized with COVID-19, 14 on ventilators.* Details on new and statewide cases are available at the end of this report.

Smelser also unveiled new epidemiology reports now available on the state's COVID-19 health website.

These reports drill down into data related to cases, hospitalizations and mortality.

For example, the map below shows cumulative case counts and rates by county, with darker counties along the state's border having the highest incidents.

Hospitalization information breaks down ethnicity, gender and age, and also delineates New Mexico residents versus out-of-state residents who were hospitalized in New Mexico.

Among the plethora of information on the state's mortality rate, health officials have included information about pre-existing conditions, with both cardiovascular disease and diabetes as the highest pre-existing conditions for people who have died from COVID-19.

Scrase also provided a slight walk-back from previous timetables for New Mexico's roll-out of an as-yet approved vaccine for COVID-19. At the beginning of the month, health officials said they expected a vaccine to be available for healthcare workers and long-term care residents in November.

On the good news front, reports on seasonal influenza from the southern hemisphere indicate the flu season may not be as severe as feared, with perhaps COVID-19 mitigation efforts, such as masking, helping to also stifle that infection.

Nonetheless, both Scrase and Smelser urged the public to get their flu shots and to keep children home from school if they show any signs of a respiratory ailment, as reports from other states indicate students are attending school even when they're sick.

"If we're going to reopen schools safely that has to include no child going to school with respiratory symptoms," Scrase said. "This isn't like back in the day when my parents told me to suck it up and go to school even when I was sick. This is a pandemic."

New cases

  • 21 new cases in Bernalillo County
  • 4 new cases in Chaves County
  • 3 new cases in Cibola County
  • 1 new case in Curry County
  • 18 new cases in Doña Ana County
  • 14 new cases in Eddy County
  • 2 new cases in Grant County
  • 8 new cases in Lea County
  • 1 new case in Luna County
  • 6 new cases in McKinley County
  • 2 new cases in Roosevelt County
  • 2 new cases in Sandoval County
  • 9 new cases in San Juan County
  • 9 new cases in San Miguel County
  • 3 new cases in Santa Fe County
  • 1 new case in Sierra County
  • 2 new cases in Socorro County
  • 1 new case in Torrance County
  • 3 new cases in Valencia County

New fatalities

  • A female in her 70s from Bernalillo County who had underlying conditions
  • A male in his 90s from Eddy County
  • A male in his 90s from Santa Fe County who was a resident of the Las Palomas Center facility in Albuquerque

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
  • Heartfelt Manor in Roswell
  • Lakeview Christian Home in Carlsbad
  • Las Palomas Center in Albuquerque
  • Lovington Healthcare in Lovington
  • Pacifica Senior Living in Santa Fe
  • Princeton Place in Albuquerque
  • Raton Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Raton
  • The Rehab Center of Albuquerque 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
  • Silver City Care Center in Silver City
  • Sunny Day Assisted Living in Gallup
  • Sunset Villa Nursing Home in Roswell
  • Village Retirement Community in Roswell
  • The Watermark at Cherry Hills in Albuquerque
  • Welbrook Senior Living Las Cruces
  • Wheatfields Senior Living in Clovis

Statewide cases

Previously reported numbers included one case in Otero County that has been identified as a duplicate and two cases that have been identified as out-of-state residents (one in McKinley County, one in San Juan 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: 6,247
  • Catron County: 9
  • Chaves County: 1,044
  • Cibola County: 406
  • Colfax County: 27
  • Curry County: 744
  • De Baca County: 1
  • Doña Ana County: 3,165
  • Eddy County: 713
  • Grant County: 110
  • Guadalupe County: 34
  • Harding County: 2
  • Hidalgo County: 99
  • Lea County: 1,342
  • Lincoln County: 189
  • Los Alamos County: 31
  • Luna County: 409
  • McKinley County: 4,300
  • Mora County: 7
  • Otero County: 247
  • Quay County: 73
  • Rio Arriba County: 386
  • Roosevelt County: 270
  • Sandoval County: 1,315
  • San Juan County: 3,276
  • San Miguel County: 103
  • Santa Fe County: 960
  • Sierra County: 43
  • Socorro County: 91
  • Taos County: 131
  • Torrance County: 66
  • Union County: 31
  • Valencia County: 558

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: 37
  • 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.

Letters to the Editor

Mail letters to PO Box 4910 Santa Fe, NM 87502 or email them to editor[at]sfreporter.com. Letters (no more than 200 words) should refer to specific articles in the Reporter. Letters will be edited for space and clarity.

We also welcome you to follow SFR on social media (on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) and comment there. You can also email specific staff members from our contact page.