Doña Ana County sees 1st virus death, man in his 50s who had been in hospital

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico -- Doña Ana County recorded its first virus fatality, as state health officials said Sunday that a man in his 50s who was hospitalized had died.

In addition, officials reported one new virus case in Doña Ana County, putting the total infections there at 49. That was the same total the state had given on Saturday, but officials said there was one prior case in the county that had accidentally been counted twice.

The Las Cruces-area virus death was among a half-dozen reported Sunday across New Mexico, raising the state's death toll to 26.

In all, New Mexico now has a total of 1,245 confirmed cases of the virus, which has currently left 80 patients hospitalized. Officials said 295 people had recovered to date.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who issued a stay-at-home order on March 23 for New Mexico that remains in effect, predicted Sunday that the coronavirus peak in the state could come as late as the end of May.

"We've looked at recovery options but we're not going do anything until the peak occurs," she said Sunday in an interview with CNN.

Grisham said that she would do "what's right" for her state to slow the virus spread even if President Donald Trump eases up on social distancing guidelines come the beginning of May.

"We're going to make the decisions that safeguard New Mexicans," she indicated.

State health leaders said those who experience symptoms of infection, such as fever, cough, or shortness of breath, should call their doctor or the New Mexico Department of Health hotline at 1-855-600-3453.

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