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COVID-19 by the numbers
New Mexico health officials yesterday reported 4,119 new COVID-19 cases, a nearly 23% increase from the day before, bringing the statewide total so far to 460,062; DOH has designated 334,164 of those cases as recovered. The statewide test positivity rate decreased slightly from 30.0% to 29.9% (the target is 7.5%).
Bernalillo County had 1,164 cases, followed by Sandoval County with 416 and Doña Ana County with 389. Santa Fe County had 240, 92 of them in the 87507 ZIP code, which ranked ninth in the state for the most new cases among ZIP codes. Santa Fe County’s test positivity rate is at 25.10%, according to this week’s community transmission report.
“COVID is everywhere,” Acting Health Secretary Dr. David Scrase said yesterday, during the weekly briefing on the pandemic, and urged New Mexicans to be extra careful right now. But modeling shows that a peak to the Omicron surge is coming—perhaps in the next three to five days—with a subsequent downturn anticipated.”When it happens, I hope will be a harbinger of spring,” Scrase said. “I’m really counting on…at least getting a spring break in my job from these high case counts.” Until then: “Be extra safe and stick with us.”US Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-NM, reported a breakthrough case of COVID-19 herself this week, tweeting: “Thankfully, I am vaxxed & boosted and able to quarantine from home.”
According to the state’s most recent vaccination report, over the prior four weeks (between Dec. 27 and Jan. 24), 53.8% of COVID-19 cases were among those not fully vaccinated, as were 77.8% of hospitalizations and 93.3% of deaths.
The state also reported 40 additional deaths, 25 recent, and 15 from more than 30 days ago, including a Santa Fe County male in his 80s who had been hospitalized and had underlying conditions. Santa Fe County has now had 224 deaths; there have been 6,357 statewide. As of yesterday, 709 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, a 4.5% increase from the day prior.
Currently, 91.2% percent of adults 18 years and older have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 77.1% have completed their primary series. Among the same demographic, 40.8% have had a booster shot. In the 12-17-year-old age group, 69.6% of people have had at least one dose and 59.1% have completed their primary series. Among children ages 5-11, 34.6% have had at least one dose of the Pfizer vaccine and 23.2% have completed their primary series. In Santa Fe County, 99% of people 18 and older have had at least one dose and 86.4% have completed their primary series.
New Mexicans can register for a COVID-19 vaccine here, schedule a COVID-19 vaccine booster here and view a public calendar for vaccine availability here. Parents can add dependents to their vaccine profiles here. You can read the updated guidelines for quarantine and isolation here.
You can order free at-home COVID-19 tests here and access the DOH testing directory here.
You can read all of SFR’s COVID-19 coverage here.
Gov subs in Santa Fe elementary school
Easier than managing a Cabinet room or the Legislature, but “complicated nonetheless,” is how Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham described her first day of substitute teaching in a briefing with reporters yesterday afternoon. The governor subbed for a kindergarten class at Salazar Elementary School in Santa Fe, an experience she characterized as “maybe one of the best days of my entire career.” The governor volunteered as a substitute as part of the state’s “Supporting Teachers and Family” initiative, rolled out last week, which seeks to place National Guard members and state employees as substitute teachers to address the staffing crises faced by schools and exacerbated by the pandemic. According to a state Public Education Department spokeswoman, the program has thus far had 119 applicants and 70 licenses have been issued, 50 to National Guard volunteers. Lujan Grisham said she received a detailed lesson plan for the class, which consisted of approximately 16 students, mostly bilingual, and prepped the night before, while also completing an “arduous” health and safety training to be certified to be in the classroom. The governor’s lesson plan included math and syllables and she added, she said, “a watercolor art project.” Trying to direct a group of 5- and 6-year-olds to focus on their alphabets while they sat around a table with watercolor supplies turned out to be more challenging than she anticipated: “We didn’t spend as much time on the math lesson,” the governor said, “but we did spend extra time on the syllable and literacy lesson. It was much harder than I thought it was going to be.” The governor said her “experience was made meaningful” by having a “qualified teacher’s assistant” in the room. As a result of the overall experience, she said, “I’m clearer than ever before that experienced substitute teachers are critical.”
SOS: “Misinformed beliefs” over 2020 election linger
Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver and the University of New Mexico’s Department of Political Science yesterday presented a report on the 2020 election that examines voter attitudes, concerns about election security and preferences for electoral reform. A few take-aways: the 2020 general election had the highest turnout in New Mexico’s history, with vote by mail increasing from 10% in recent elections to 35%. Most voters thought poll workers were helpful (94%), felt safe voting in person (96%) and thought their polling locations were easy to find (99%). While a majority of voters were confident in how elections are run and their outcomes, “many misinformed beliefs about election administration remain.” For instance, a majority of voters believe it’s possible for politicians, union officials and employers to find out who they voted for.
The survey also details voters’ beliefs about potential election fraud and found, among other things, men are more likely than women to believe illegal election activities occur more frequently and Democrats are less likely than Republicans to believe they do. The report, Toulouse Oliver said in a statement, “isn’t just an academic exercise. The data helps my office and election administrators across New Mexico understand how voters are thinking, what’s working, and what needs improvement in the eyes of the customers we serve.” Former UNM Professor Lonna Atkeson, a principal author of the report, said that due to the “national conversation on voter privacy that’s been ongoing since 2016,” this year’s survey included “questions on perceptions of ballot privacy and incidences of voter coercion. It’s a great example of why these comparative reports are important,” she said. “We gain insight on current elections; and better understand the concerns facing voters regarding future elections. Comparing data across elections broadens the scope of our perspective on election protocol.”
State rep recovering after car crash
State Rep. Roger Montoya, D-Velarde, is recovering at home following a single vehicle car crash while heading south bound on US-84/285, near Alcalde. According to a news release, Montoya was on his way to the New Mexico State Capitol for the legislative session when he hit a patch of ice, causing his truck to spin out of control and flip twice before resting at the bottom of an embankment. “It happened very quickly and was a violent experience,” Montoya said in a statement. “I was driving, hit a patch of ice, and the next thing I knew, I was flying through a fence and my truck was rolling. I was trapped inside my truck for nearly 35 minutes until our brave first responders cut my windshield and pulled me to safety.” He was then taken to Española Presbyterian Hospital and released a few hours later. He is currently experiencing “debilitating hip pain and is at home resting,’’ Montoya’s chief of staff, Isaac Dakota Casados, said in a statement. “He will require careful monitoring over the next week, but hopes to return to the Roundhouse as soon as possible to champion his landmark rural infrastructure bill.” Montoya expressed thanks to various first responders, as well as neighbors and others who provided aid, and took the opportunity of his car crash to shout-out the importance of first responders. “Our first responders are critical to public health and safety,” Montoya said.”It is deeply concerning that too many of these responders are severely underpaid or have to donate their time due to funding storages. As a legislator, I am committed to bridging this inequity and elevating their voices for a future career pathway.”
Listen up
Let’s be honest: Santa Fe is a city that likes to chow down. And why wouldn’t we with 20 amazing restaurants per resident? (Not real math). Whether you’re still on your take-out game, dreaming of outdoor dining come spring or donning your N95 for on-the-town meals, chances are you’re the target audience for the new Santa Fe Foods docuseries. Season one (still in production) features chefs from six of Santa Fe’s renowned eateries (Sazon, Geronimo, Sassela, The Compound, Restaurant Market and Market Steer Steakhouse). You can watch the trailer here, and listen to a conversation between Heating it Up podcast host, chef and cookbook author Cheryl Alters Jamison (who is a guest on the first season) and the show’s executive producer Greg Zoch.
Immersive Van Gogh coming to NM
Tickets go on sale today for the immersive Van Gogh show you’ve likely encountered in your internet travels. Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience opens in Albuquerque’s Sawmill District at the immersive Pavilion, located at 1820 Bellamah Ave., on March 2. “While journeying through Beyond Van Gogh, guests witness over 300 masterpieces, including instantly-recognizable classics such as ‘The Starry Night,’ ‘Sunflowers’ and ‘Café Terrace at Night,’ now freed from their frames,” a news release on the exhibit says. “Van Gogh’s art comes to life by appearing and disappearing, flowing across multiple surfaces, and heightening the senses with their immense detail. Through his own words set to a symphonic score, guests come to a new appreciation of this tortured artist’s stunning work. It’s no surprise that millions of people all over the world credit Van Gogh with enhancing their relationship with art. Beyond Van Gogh will deepen it further.” The show occupies more than 30,000 square feet and is comprised of over 4 trillion content pixels (and you can listen to the exhibit’s playlist here). Check out some previews on the Van Gogh Albuquerque Instagram as well.
Smart spending
What does Generation Z want from financial technology? That’s the question New Mexico writer Svati Kirsten Narula sets out to answer in a story for the Wall Street Journal. In a nutshell, Gen Z want personalized fintech, and fintech companies are happy to oblige with “curated and individualized products” such as “payment systems that collect data about users in real time and let them know how their financial habits compare to those of their peers.” Some also are gravitating toward buy-now-pay-later systems such as that offered by Affirm, as has been the case for Adam Nordby, a 24-year-old engineer in Santa Fe, who tells WSJ he’s used Affirm for several buy-now-pay-later plans to finance emergency purchases, such as new tires: “It’s just very transparent about, like, ‘Hey, you can’t afford this’ or, like, ‘We don’t trust you to buy this sort of thing,’” Nordby said, “adding that he appreciated that blunt message when Affirm once declined to finance a purchase. “When you’re spending money, that’s important.”
Brrr
Prepare for another day or two in the 30-degree range. Today, for instance, the National Weather Service says it will be mostly sunny with a high near 32 degrees and north wind 5 to 10 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon. And tonight, Santa Fe has another 40% chance for snow, mostly before 11 pm.
Thanks for reading! The Word is adding most of the books announced yesterday as finalists in the 2022 PEN America Literary Awards to her reading list.