New Mexico Has 281 positive tests for COVID-19

COVID-19 by the numbers

Yesterday, state health officials announced 44 additional positive tests for COVID-19, bringing the total number to 281. Those figures are based on the results of 12,527 tests. In addition, two women in Bernalillo died yesterday from the virus, bringing the total number of deaths in the state to four. Both women—one in her 90s and one in her 70s—had been hospitalized and had underlying medical conditions. As of Monday, 24 individuals had been hospitalized in New Mexico for COVID-19—two more than the day prior; 26 COVID-19 cases have been designated as recovered. The new cases include three new cases in Santa Fe County, bringing the total number here to 38.

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.

Helping the homeless during COVID-19

Yesterday, Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber announced the city was providing housing for Santa Fe's homeless at the Midtown campus, noting that a 30% infection rate among the region's homeless population would be enough to overwhelm the healthcare system, according to estimates by national healthcare experts. Webber said the city has spent approximately $25,000 in the last week to begin refurbishing dorm rooms with the goal of making 150 beds available to those who need them most. The rooms will be located in different buildings and on different floors to try to maintain as much social distance as possible.

Get out of jail

Sixty medical professionals have urged the governor and other top officials to release incarcerated non-violent offenders in the state and county jails. The health professionals warn that lack of access to soap and cleaning supplies coupled with cramped quarters makes conditions unsafe for inmates and corrections workers. An outbreak in a jail or prison would intensify the use of limited medical resources, they say. The request comes as the state has its first reported inmate case of COVID-19 at Bernalillo County's Metropolitan Detention Center. As for medical resources, President Donald Trump purportedly told the governor yesterday via phone that the state will get the Army hospital Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham requested last week. In the call, a transcript of which CBS posted, the governor warns the president that COVID-19 could "wipe out" the state's tribal nations. In response, Trump tells the governor: "We'll build you that hospital as quickly as we can."

Clerks want voting by mail

Almost all 33 of the state's county clerks petitioned the state Supreme Court yesterday for New Mexico's June 2 primary to take place via mail due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The request comes in part because state law lacks any provisions for emergencies to ensure the safety of poll workers or voters, and the clerks say it's not realistic to have a special session of the Legislature to change procedures. The petition includes a letter from Health Secretary Kathyleen Kunkel expressing concern that convening all 112 legislators could result in spreading the virus to them and others.

Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver also has encouraged voters to use absentee ballots. The Daily Lobo broke the story, but NM Political Report has a copy of the petition you can read yourself. As for the Legislature, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has previously said lawmakers will need a special session at some point to address COVID-19's economic impact on the state—Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, says state revenue could fall by $1.5 billion to $2 billion.

Midtown in the time of coronavirus

COVID-19 delayed a public hearing at which the public would have found out who an evaluations committee has recommended as the finalist master development team for the Midtown campus. Until that hearing happens—it's now rescheduled for a virtual meeting on April 13—that information is being kept under wraps. Of the three possible contenders, only one—Central Park Santa Fe—confirmed to the Santa Fe New Mexican it's been eliminated from consideration. The city has been silent on the particulars of the finalists' proposals, even asking the finalists themselves to not speak about their plans. The city's approach, according to New Mexico Foundation for Open Government executive director Melanie J. Majors, "violates the public trust."

Listen up

Episode 32 of "Your New Mexico Government" focuses on COVID-19's impact on the criminal justice sector. Guests include Department of Corrections Alisha Tafoya Lucero; Children Youth and Families Department Secretary Brian Blalock; lawyer Matthew Coyte; ACLU criminal justice advocate Barron Jones; Santa Fe Public Defender's Office attorney Jennifer Burrill, who contracted COVID; and journalist Jeff Proctor, who works both for SFR and New Mexico In Depth.

Watch this

The Center for Contemporary Arts kicked off its Living Room series last week. It's a combination of screening/virtual audience experiences accessible by web and by the Zoom chat platform. "I started more from the idea of who would Santa Fe like to meet than I did with the films themselves," CCA Cinematheque Director Jason Silverman tells SFR. "The CCA has developed a lot of friends in the film world over the years, and we figured it was a good time to ask them to help us out, help support us by checking in remotely. And the response has been great." Tonight's program: a screening of the 2011 Steve James documentary The Interrupters. Will James speak via stream for that? He sure will.

Literary pandemics

Dystopian literature was popular well before the COVID-19 crisis, but also predictive and informative. Here's a few options if you'd like to take a break from reading the actual news and dive into stories that imagine how humanity might cope with unexplained sweeping viruses, circadian disruption and corporate greed, among other end-of-life-as-we-know-it scenarios.

Bid March farewell

As predicted, yesterday was stupid-windy. Monday also featured unpredicted hail and snow storms. Today appears as though it will be less dramatic: Sunny, with a high near 63. Northwest wind 5 to 15 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Sunny and breezy provides an apt description for the rest of the week as well, but we shall keep you posted.

Thanks for reading! The Word thinks we should cancel all the Zoom meetings and start playing 19th century parlor games instead.