New Mexico’s governor says no end in sight for emergency restrictions
SANTA FE, New Mexico – There is no end in sight for a public health emergency declared by New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in response to the coronavirus as outbreaks accelerate, afflicting Native American communities and nursing homes in the state.
The governor suggested the state is almost certain to extend into May its current public health emergency that has suspended nonessential businesses and banned gatherings of more than five people.
Lujan Grisham said any large relaxation of the restrictions was out of the question. She maintained the state cannot relax social distancing requirements without major advances in detecting infections, expanded testing, better contact tracing and treatment breakthroughs such as a vaccine.
As of Wednesday, the governor said there were 1,485 confirmed virus cases in the state, but no additional deaths had occurred - leaving the fatality count at 36.
On this day with no new deaths, state health officials highlighted progress in lowering the so-called doubling rate —- the number of days it takes for infections to double. The rate now stands at between four and five days.
There were 80 new cases reported in New Mexico on Wednesday, including four in Doña Ana County - raising the the total number of cases in the Las Cruces area to 54; there's been just one death there to date.
The governor said 90 New Mexicans were currently hospitalized, with 22 of those patients on ventilators. About a third of patients hospitalized nationally require a ventilator, so she noted that the state is below the U.S. average.
Lujan Grisham said labs across the state are now able to process 3,500 virus test per day. New Mexico's testing efforts have increased ahead of many other states, with more than 33,000 tests administered, which she attributed to the fact that "New Mexico is a significant research state."
New Mexico has consistently been among the top states in per capita testing for Covid-19 infections, while aggressively tracing new infections and developing a customized forecast model in cooperation with two national laboratories in the state.
Lujan Grisham said the state had accepted an invitation Wednesday from the White House to participate in a pilot program to improve and expand contact tracing for coronavirus infections in efforts to better isolate outbreaks. It was unclear whether other states would be involved.
Meantime, the governor lashed out at the health care sector for attempting to shelter future profits just days after several hospitals in New Mexico - including the two major medical centers in Las Cruces - announced major reductions in staffing.
She acknowledged that health care organizations are under financial stress because of a state directive to suspend elective, nonessential surgeries and procedures. But she added that the state has advanced $30 million in Medicare revenues, while a federal stimulus package includes $150 billion in support for the industry.
“That was confirmed by a conversation I had with a leading large private hospital CEO that what they want is a guarantee on their profits for the year, given that they could have done all of those elective surgeries,” Lujan Grisham said. “Quite frankly, I find that to be appalling as we address this public health crisis together.”
The hospital staff reduction comes on top of a collapse of the tourism sector and anemic oil prices that are roiling the state economy as state labor officials rush to distribute new unemployment benefits and small business loans.
State health officials currently expect infections to peak in May and have launched a Covid-19 website that provides detailed information on the state's virus cases.
