New Mexico’s virus cases headed back upward; 35 more deaths including 2 in southern NM
SANTE FE, New Mexico — While New Mexico’s daily count of confirmed Covid-19 cases had been trending downward over recent days from the record highs reported earlier this month, a concerning 2,076 new cases were reported on Friday.
State health officials said the added infections included 98 in Doña Ana County, bringing the statewide total to 91,852 and the county total to 12,976 since the pandemic began.
There was a 12.2% positivity result of the tests analyzed in Friday's report from the state, according to an analysis by KOB-TV in Albuquerque.
The statewide death toll increased by 35 on Friday to stand at 1,504, and hospitalizations remained high with 874 people being treated around the state.
Two of the state's latest deaths occurred in southern New Mexico, involving a Doña Ana county man in his 40s and an Otero County woman in her 60s. Doña Ana County's death count reached 179 and Otero County's is now at 24.
New Mexico has some of the strictest public health restrictions in place, including capacity limits at grocery stores and other essential businesses. Many other businesses are closed, face masks are mandatory, gatherings of more than five people are prohibited and there’s no indication when schools will be able to bring students back to the classroom.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday announced a tiered 'red to green' system to designate when counties in the state can relax restrictions. Almost all counties on Friday were listed in the red, not allowing for re-openings.
“It’s been a difficult year and an especially difficult past month,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement. “We must remain as vigilant as ever to contain and beat the virus."
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. (The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
