New Mexico comes close to another new virus case high at 486, with 73 in Doña Ana County
SANTA FE, New Mexico — A day after reporting a record daily number of new Covid-19 cases, New Mexico officials came close to doing so again on Saturday.
State officials reported 486 additional Covid-19 cases — two short of the 488 reported Friday — and five additional deaths. The state's totals increased to 32,722 cases and 907 deaths.
The counties with the most additional cases reported Saturday were Bernalillo (Albuquerque) at 167 (7,584 total) followed by Doña Ana (Las Cruces) with 73 (3,990 total).
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has acknowledged the new milestones for daily infections and urged residents to recommit to stopping the pandemic’s spread.
“I know we’re tired. I know we’re frustrated,” she said on Twitter. “But Covid-19 is real. And no one’s life is worth the risk.”
The additional deaths reported Saturday included one each in Eddy, Lea, McKinley, San Juan and Santa Fe counties. All were said to have underlying conditions.
Johns Hopkins University data analyzed by The Associated Press indicated the state's seven-day rolling average of new deaths declined in the past two weeks from 3.3 to 2.4.
Meanwhile, the rolling average of daily new cases over the same period rose from 146 to 299.
New Mexico’s positivity rate is on the rise too. The seven-day rolling average of the positivity rate has risen over the past two weeks from 2.3% on Sept. 24 to 4.4%
Comparing seven-day averages of new cases smooths out anomalies in the data, including delays in test results.
The state’s infection and positivity rates for the spread of the virus are climbing as the Lujan Grisham administration holds the line on a public health order that requires masks in public, bans gatherings of more than 10 people and restricts many businesses to 25% occupancy.
Most out-of-state travelers are required to self-quarantine upon arrival in New Mexico — with exceptions for people arriving from six northeastern states, California and Washington.
In a reversal of fortunes, New Mexico had more newly confirmed cases per 100,000 residents over the past two weeks — at 169 — than neighboring Colorado with 150 and Arizona with 105.
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.
