New Mexico tops 7,600 virus cases: Doña Ana County trends downward, Otero prison outbreak grows

SANTE FE, New Mexico -- New Mexico had over 7,600 confirmed cases of the coronavirus as of Saturday, but the number of new cases trended downward for the week in Dona Ana County while a prison outbreak in Otero County continued to grow.

More than half of the state's total case are concentrated in McKinley and San Juan counties, which sit on the edge of the hard-hit Navajo Nation in the state's northwest corner.

The state's death toll now stands at 344, with seven new deaths that all occurred in McKinley and San Juan counties.

In southern New Mexico, 11 additional cases were reported in Doña Ana County to bring its infections total to 460. However, the rate of new cases showed a significant drop from the prior week (71 compared to 115). There were no additional fatalities in the county, which had recorded its third death of the pandemic on Friday.

In neighboring Otero County, cases among residents held at 22, with just two deaths to date. But there were seven new cases among inmates at the Otero County Prison, putting their outbreak total at 108; the adjacent Otero County ICE Processing Center stayed at 92 cases - meaning there are 200 combined between the two federally-run detention facilities.

Across the state, the number of hospitalizations dropped slightly Saturday from about 200 to 189. State health officials also said more than 188,000 tests had been done thus far and 2,835 New Mexicans were listed as recovered from the virus.