New Mexico, Dona Ana virus cases continue drop; governor readies to reopen schools, distribute vaccine
SANTA FE, New Mexico — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham expressed hope Wednesday that most elementary school students will be able to return to classrooms after Labor Day under a hybrid mode, citing declining statewide rates of coronavirus infection.
New Mexico state health officials on Wednesday announced 174 new infections. That brings the state’s total to 23,749 since the pandemic began earlier this year.
The latest cases include 16 from Dona Ana County, which takes its confirmed case tally to 2,664.
Officials also reported an additional six statewide deaths related to the virus, bringing that tally to 729. None of those latest deaths occurred in southern New Mexico.
State officials have been pressing for residents to stay home and avoid gatherings in order to keep the numbers low. They have been monitoring the average daily case counts along with other factors to determine whether public schools can begin some limited in-person classes after the Labor Day holiday.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Lujan Grisham said New Mexico is “crushing it” when it comes containing the pandemic and meeting the state’s criteria for reopening the economy. She expressed hope that K-5 classrooms can reopen to rotating pods of students who also study remotely from home.
“We think we’re gonna be able to do that just after Labor Day,” Lujan Grisham said. “New Mexico has to stay the course to achieve that. So far, so good.”
Meantime, New Mexico is also planning for Covid-19 vaccine distribution even though it’s too early to say when one will be available.
Lujan Grisham is indicating that health care workers, educators, nursing home residents and emergency responders could be among those required to be inoculated once there is a vaccine.
Acknowledging uncertainties about the availability and effectiveness of a vaccine, the governor said she expects a debate over mandating certain groups of people to accept the vaccine.
Her comments came as pharmaceutical companies race to have a vaccine ready by early next year.
The governor’s administration has authority under a 2003 state law to issue vaccine orders during a declared public health emergency. The Albuquerque Journal reported that those who decline a vaccine for reasons of health, religion or conscience can be ordered to isolate or self-quarantine under the same law.
The governor’s office did not say whether the Lujan Grisham administration would invoke that law once a coronavirus vaccine is available.
“The overall key point is that the more people who get a vaccine, the safer we all are as a group,” Lujan Grisham spokeswoman Nora Meyers Sackett said. “That’s going to be the underlying principle here no matter what the vaccine ultimately looks like.”
As a starting point, the state would use existing recommendations for the flu vaccine to guide the coronavirus vaccine plan.
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.
