Health experts say New Mexico virus spread trends upward as Doña Ana County sees 26 more cases

SANTA FE, New Mexico – Health officials said Tuesday that the number of Covid-19 cases and the rate of transmission are on the rise in New Mexico, leaving the state trailing when it comes to two of its most important metrics.

New Mexico on Tuesday saw 178 new virus cases for a pandemic total of 29,157. Doña Ana County had 26 of those new cases for a cumulative infection count of 3,387.

In addition, there were two more deaths, both in Eddy County, for 875 recorded statewide to date. Hospitalizations across the state numbered 80 on Tuesday, with 14 of those patients needing ventilators.

Human Services Secretary Dr. David Scrase pointed to a nationwide effort that tracks the progress of states meeting various benchmarks, saying New Mexico has now slipped behind neighboring Arizona and is considered to be trending poorly. The map shows Arizona's Covid-19 rate is decreasing after having skyrocketed earlier this summer.

Texas still is considered to have uncontrolled spread, and New Mexico health officials said those counties bordering Texas - such as Doña Ana County - continue to have some of the highest rates in New Mexico because of interstate commerce and employment in those areas.

Scrase acknowledged during a Tuesday afternoon briefing (you can watch it in the video player at the top of this article) that if things don’t change, the state will see the curve continue to rise. He said he would rather see New Mexicans following the health order already in place rather than the state imposing more mandates to limit spread.

“I would prefer not to continue on this rollercoaster,” he said. “I’d prefer to allow folks to respond — to stay at home, to wear those masks, keep those distances, stick within the public health guidelines. I think everything we need to do right now could be accomplished if 100% of us followed the public health guidelines.”

The public health order mandates face masks and social distancing, limits indoor dining and the size of gatherings and calls for people to stay home whenever possible.

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