CDC Ranks NM Seven-Day COVID-19 Case Rate 8th in the Nation, as DOH reports case, hospitalizations surge

COVID-19 by the numbers

New Mexico health officials yesterday reported 1,611 new COVID-19 cases, 445 more than the day prior and the highest single case count since early January. The new cases bring the statewide total to 281,282; the health department has designated 246,324 of those cases as recovered. New Mexico currently ranks among the top 10 of states with the most cases per 100,000 residents in the last seven days: 8th, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Bernalillo County had 333 new cases, followed by San Juan County with 287 and Doña Ana County with 221. Santa Fe County had 58 new cases.

The state also announced 16 additional deaths, 15 of them recent; there have now been 5,101 fatalities statewide. As of yesterday, 460 people were hospitalized with COVID-19—a nine month high, a nearly 10% increase from the day prior and a 25% increase since Monday. Today’s increased case and hospitalization rates follow health officials warnings Wednesday regarding the state of the pandemic here and the ongoing push to encourage New Mexicans to seek both first vaccinations and booster shots.

Currently, 82.7% of New Mexicans 18 years and older have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 72.7% are fully vaccinated. Among that age group, 12.2% have had a booster shot. In the 12-17-year-old age group, 62.7% people have had at least one dose and 54.5% are fully inoculated. In Santa Fe County, 93.3% people 18 and older have had at least one dose and 82.5% are fully vaccinated.

New Mexicans can register for a COVID-19 vaccine here and check eligibility for a COVID-19 vaccine booster here.

You can read all of SFR’s COVID-19 coverage here.

Legislative staff ironing out details on new weapons ban

The Legislative Council is working to finalize a policy banning firearms for everyone besides law enforcement and military members at the state Capitol in advance of the special session on redistricting expected to begin on Dec. 6. Lawmakers on the Legislative Council passed the policy earlier this week. Legislative Council Service Director Raúl Burciaga tells the Albuquerque Journal that money to pay for the policy’s implementation will most likely come from an appropriations bill passed during this year’s 60-day legislative session and similar bills from upcoming sessions, but he did not have a final estimate for the cost of hiring additional staff and security to enforce the policy. Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, who proposed the ban, tells the Journal the timing felt right in advance of both the expected special session next month and the regular 30-day session that starts in January. “In some senses, it’s sad we have to be in this place,” Wirth said. “But it’s one of the realities of the times we live in.” The move has drawn criticisms from some Republicans, such as gubernatorial candidate and state Rep. Rebecca Dow of Truth or Consequences, who issued a statement reading, in part: “This is just another instance of our government under the direction of [Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham] disregarding the rights of law abiding New Mexicans for their own political gain. We’ve seen our radical government leaders sign away our right to bear arms year after year, then threaten our law enforcement after they explained the laws were unenforceable.” The governor’s office declined to comment on the policy to the Journal. State GOP Chairman Steve Pearce also issued a statement decrying the new policy, calling it “another assault on New Mexicans’ constitutional rights by progressive Democrats.”

Eyes on WIPP

More nuclear waste will be traveling through Santa Fe en route to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad: 10 to 12 shipments per week over the next few months, according to the Department of Energy. The increased shipments come as federal regulators have filed requests with the state to expand the facility’s underground capabilities, and announced earlier this year that it was going to prepare an environmental impact statement to dispose of surplus plutonium at WIPP. The state environment department recently approved resumption of a $100 million air shaft build at the facility, which was halted last year due to a rise in COVID-19 infections at the WIPP site. Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety described the approval as “a key step for doubling the size of the WIPP underground disposal area, implicitly allowing WIPP to stay open forever.” An energy department spokeswoman told SFR the department doesn’t consider its applications “expansion,” but nuclear watchdogs like Don Hancock, director of nuclear waste safety for the Southwest Research and Information Center, say the requests are being used as a piecemeal way to expand the facility. A spokeswoman for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham tells SFR the governor is concerned about the possibility of future WIPP expansion and increased nuclear materials shipments through the state. But the governor’s “biggest concern,” Nora Meyers Sackett says, is the US Department of Energy “continues to prioritize shipments from other states to...WIPP while failing to expedite cleanup of waste” at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Santa Fe Opera announces 2022 season

If you’re already dreaming about next summer, add the Santa Fe Opera’s 65th season to your list of planned activities. General Director Robert K. Meya announced the repertory and casting yesterday for the season that will run from July 1 through Aug. 27, 2022, and feature five new productions (last summer’s scaled-back season included four) and 38 performances. The coming season will include the company’s 18th world premiere: M. Butterfly with music by Huang Ruo and libretto David Henry Hwang (adapted from his play), directed by James Robinson; the company premiere of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, co-directed by Zack Winokur and Lisenka Heijboer Castañón; a retelling of Bizet’s Carmen by Mariame Clément; Verdi’s comic final opera Falstaff in a co-production with Scottish Opera by Sir David McVicar; Stephen Barlow’s take on Rossini’s The Barber of Seville; along with two apprentice scenes. “I hold great hope for a return to normalcy in 2022,” Meya said in a statement. “Three of our five featured productions were originally scheduled for 2020, so this coming season will be a healing of sorts for the lost year of the pandemic. There will be humor, tragedy, boundless tales of love and something entirely new. There’s truly a show for everyone.” Tickets have already gone on sale. Meya said the company anticipates requiring proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test next summer, and it is expected that audience members will continue to be required to wear masks. The Santa Fe Opera is currently reviewing additional activities such as its prelude talks, dinners, shuttles, tours and family nights “to determine what can be offered while still ensuring safety.”

Listen up

If you’ve ever thought of giving Audible a try, here’s a pressing reason: Eminent Domain, a new chapter-based audio drama produced entirely within Northern New Mexico, which launched yesterday on Audible. From the description: “Loretta Pacheco has a cool job at an electric car company. Her life finally seems headed in the right direction. But in a flash, it all starts to fall apart. What were the strange voices she heard as she lay injured by the side of the road? Why, exactly, did two young boys disappear all those years ago? And what is this strange sound in her head?” SFR talked with the crew who created the project this week to hear about the inspiration, which creator, co-writer, director and co-executive producer Warren Langford says has been in the making for than a decade. Co-writer Victoriano “Tori” Cárdenas says he “always wanted to write something ‘New Mexican’ my whole life. Breaking Bad didn’t have a lot of the quirky things that are a part of our culture, it’s just set here. We wanted to produce something more representative of the people living in the region. I wanted to reach out to New Mexico kids like me.” So listen up and then head to Eminent Domain’s free release party 7 pm on Saturday at the Jean Cocteau.

And to all a good night

Yesterday, we came to terms with the reality that it’s almost Thanksgiving. Turns out that means Christmas is almost here as well. And if Parade magazine has its way, some holiday travelers will make their way to Santa Fe, which ranked 21 on its list of “25 Best Christmas Vacations” (right after Rovaniemi, Finland, but before Stowe, Vermont). Santa Fe, Parade notes, is “nothing short of magical” at the holidays, and cites the annual tree lighting on the Plaza, “dances at the Indian Pueblos” and The Nutcracker as reasons for that magic (to the best of our knowledge, no Nutcracker performances will occur this year following the demise of Aspen Santa Fe Ballet’s dance company, but plenty of other holiday performances are on tap at the Lensic Performing Arts Center this season). Parade also notes the annual Christmas Open House at the New Mexico Art Museum as “a favorite amongst kids of all ages,” from which one can learn about Las Posadas. For yet more holiday fun, Holiday in Santa Fe, which filmed on the Plaza last April, premieres on Lifetime come Dec. 10. Plot: “Casa de Milagro is a family-owned business that makes holiday ornaments and décor, inspired by Mexican Christmas traditions. Their award-winning designs, created by matriarch Milagro Ortega, are highly sought after each holiday season. Siblings Tony (Mario Lopez) and Magdalena (Aimee Garcia), with help from their dad (Efrain Figueroa), run the shop in Santa Fe, but when their beloved Milagro unexpectedly passes, the family struggles to find its heart.” We bet they find it.

Eastwood classic dubbed in Navajo

Béeso Dah Yiníljaa, a Navajo-dubbed version of Clint Eastwood’s A Fistful of Dollars, will be released and shown this month in communities across the Navajo Nation, including in New Mexico. The Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, Arizona announced the upcoming showings yesterday, noting the project had been in the works since 2018 but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a news release from the museum, the movie features an all Navajo cast of voice actors “who captured the essence of the classic western in the Navajo language,” and was a collaboration between the museum, the Kino Lorber company in New York City and was recorded at the Native owned Native Stars Studios in Gallup. “We felt we needed a movie that related to our older generation and also based our decision on numerous requests for a western especially from our elders,” Navajo Nation Museum Director Manuelito Wheeler said in a statement. “It only makes sense to make a movie for them since they are the primary speakers of Navajo. I know they’ll have a great time watching it.” The film is the third the museum has dubbed in Navajo as part of its efforts “to bring an awareness of Navajo language preservation to Navajo people and the world.” Previously, it released Navajo versions of Star Wars: A New Hope and Finding Nemo. In Eastwood’s 1964s film, as described by IMDB, “a wandering gunfighter plays two rival families against each other in a town torn apart by greed, pride and revenge.”

Take that, winter!

Today, the National Weather Service claims we will see a high of near 70 degrees with northwest wind 5 to 15 mph. Expect a sunny weekend with highs in the mid to high 60s.

Thanks for reading! The Word agrees with this Atlantic magazine essay that people should not move solely to live somewhere with nice weather.