New Mexico sees virus case declines, but nursing home deaths persist
SANTA FE, New Mexico — New Mexico is seeing its daily Covid-19 case totals decline, but health officials have been worried about whether the Christmas holiday could lead to another spike as it takes two to three weeks for infections to manifest.
On Monday, the state reported an additional 700 confirmed cases, including 50 in Dona Ana County, bringing the statewide total to more than 138,650 and the county's total to 17,081 since the pandemic began.
The death toll stands at 2,380. Almost one-third of the 36 fatalities reported Monday involved people at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
Two of the four deaths occurring in southern New Mexico's Luna and Otero counties also involved nursing home patients. Those fatalities include:
- A man in his 40s, and another in his 50s, from Otero County who had both been hospitalized.
- Two men in their 90s who were residents of the Mimbres Memorial Nursing Home in Deming.
Vaccinations of health care workers as well as staff and residents at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities in the state is ongoing.
Data collected by the state shows the virus has been most deadly for Hispanics and Native Americans. While those 65 years and older make up the largest group of people who have succumbed to the virus overall, deaths have been more evenly spread among younger groups of Hispanics and Native Americans.
The data also shows hypertension and diabetes are the leading underlying conditions among those who die from complications of a Covid-19 infection.
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.
