Another Las Cruces nursing home among dozens with virus infections as New Mexico sees 209 new cases

SANTA FE, New Mexico -- State health officials on Saturday reported 209 new coronavirus cases, ending a week in which the infection count often seemed to climb by significant numbers daily.

The rate of spread also trended up this week in most regions of the state, with the northeast and southwest - including Dona Ana and Otero counties -making the biggest jumps.

In all, New Mexico had 11,619 total cases to end the week. The death toll reached 491, including two new deaths reported Saturday which occurred in the northwest corner of the state.

There were 24 new cases recorded Saturday in Doña Ana County, bringing total infections there to 868. For the week, the county saw a record number of new virus cases at 167.

Blue Horizon Assisted Living in Las Cruces became the latest of over 30 nursing homes across the state where health officials reported at least one confirmed case recently among staff or residents.

The facility is now the fifth nursing home in Las Cruces and the sixth in Doña Ana County to make the list at some point during the pandemic. Previous infections were reported at Haciendas of Grace Village, Casa De Oro Center, Casa Del Sol Center and The Village at Northrise in Las Cruces, as well as The Jim Wood Home in Hatch.

State officials also continue struggling with the outbreak among inmate populations in southern New Mexico.

There was one new case reported Saturday at the prison in Otero County, where 710 inmates, or about 80%, have now tested positive for the virus. The outbreak started in early May when officials learned a staff member was infected.

There were no additional infections reported at the neighboring Otero County ICE Processing Center, which to date had recorded 146 cases among migrant detainees there.

As of Saturday, there were 122 New Mexicans hospitalized with the virus. State health officials said they continued to monitor the number of available intensive care beds at hospitals around the state.

Below you can see county-by-county data for virus cases and deaths across New Mexico. The data comes from Johns Hopkins University, so the numbers may sometimes vary a bit from what's reported by the state health department.