Death surge still in New Mexico & Doña Ana County; virus reporting mandate extended for employers

SANTA FE, New Mexico -- New Mexico is dealing with a surge in coronavirus-related deaths, having marked a new record Thursday for the number of deaths reported in a single day at 44. Another 33 deaths were reported Friday, bringing the state's fatality tally to more than 1,700.

Four of Friday's deaths were in Doña Ana County (half as many as the eight reported Thursday) and included three men, one in his 40s and two in their 80s, along with a woman in her 60s. The total number of county virus deaths to date rose to 209.

State health officials on Friday reported an additional 2,080 confirmed cases, with 224 of those new infections in Doña Ana County. It brought New Mexico’s total to nearly 105,000 since the pandemic began — and Doña Ana County's portion of that to 14,318.

Health leaders have been warning that cases could go up over the next two weeks as a result of family gatherings over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Hospitalizations remained high Friday at 934 patients across the state, as demand for testing continued to increase.

Also on Friday, New Mexico employers were told they must continue reporting all positive Covid-19 cases among their workers to the state.

The New Mexico Environment Department said it has adopted another emergency amendment to New Mexico’s workplace safety laws to extend the disclosure requirement, which was first implemented in August. Under the provision, employers have to notify the state within four hours of learning about a positive case.

The agency is seeking to make the requirement permanent through a formal rule-making effort. A virtual public hearing is scheduled for Dec. 18.

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.