New Mexico governor says ‘stay home’ as state virus cases pass 11,000; Dona Ana County tops 800

SANTA FE, New Mexico — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham had a simple message Thursday as the statewide total of Covid-19 infections in New Mexico exceeded 11,000.

"You should stay home," Lujan Grisham said as she announced that phase two of the state's reopening plan slated for July 1 - which includes bars, theaters and non-tribal casinos - would be placed on hold for at least a week, maybe longer.

The governor's decision came as the virus spread rate rose in four of the five regions in New Mexico, including the southwest corner that contains Doña Ana County.

"Our goal should be to reduce cases,” she said.

As of Thursday afternoon, there were 207 new virus cases for a total of 11,192. Doña Ana County led the state, accounting for nearly a quarter of all new cases with 46, to raise their cumulative count to 806.

There were also five new deaths across the state, raising the death toll to 485. None of those latest fatalities happened in southwest New Mexico.

The governor indicated the state’s pace for further re-opening depends on whether people continue to observe social distancing guidelines and wear masks to keep the rate of spread from increasing.

Lujan Grisham also expressed concern about rising cases in neighboring states, noting that adjacent El Paso has the sixth highest rate of infection in Texas. For that reason, she encouraged residents not to visit across the state border unless necessary.

She said that New Mexico remains in a better position than Texas and Arizona due to early mitigation steps, including the use of masks.

The 11,000 case milestone was reached after New Mexico had already eased into the re-opening of some segments of the economy, including breweries, restaurants, gyms and salons at limited capacities.

However, members of the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and other organizations had hoped the governor would consider allowing veterans’ posts to open.

Windy Townsend, the canteen manager of VFW Post 7686 in Alamogordo, recently wrote to Lujan Grisham, asking to let her post open. Townsend explained that the posts are places where veterans feel safe and can find resources such as help with utility bills and food bank items.

“The virus is a very real crisis. But we need to factor in everything,” Townsend said.

The governor’s office classifies the veterans’ posts as bars so they aren’t in line to reopen given that phase two has now been placed on hold.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)