Dona Ana County posts 10% of state’s new virus cases as overall trend shows decline
SANTA FE, New Mexico -- New Mexico state health officials on Wednesday announced 205 additional Covid-19 cases, which represented a jump from the 69 new cases reported Tuesday — the smallest daily number since June.
State health officials have reported 24,732 confirmed infections and 755 deaths since the pandemic began; they reported five new deaths Wednesday.
New Mexico currently has the lowest average rate of positive tests in the western U.S., according to an analysis by The Associated Press of data collected by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering. The number of average daily deaths is hovering between four and five statewide.
In Dona Ana County, it contributed 20 new cases - or about 10% - of the state's daily tally for Wednesday and took its' own case total during the pandemic to 2,752. Deaths held steady Wednesday in the county at 40 after it had reported a pair of fatalities the day prior.
Average daily coronvirus case totals have declined recently in both Dona Ana County and across New Mexico. State officials also said testing capacity is meeting targets, hospitalizations have been low and the rate of spread statewide has been below the target.
Recent progress in slowing the outbreak led to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham saying Wednesday that she planned to relax some public health mandates imposed because of the coronavirus.
“I know New Mexicans are ecstatic about our recent progress against Covid-19,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement. “But, given what we know about this virus, we must sound a note of caution: Our progress is only as good as our willingness to stay the course. This virus is still looking for opportunities to spread.”
Statistical modeling by the state Health Department estimates that the virus has spread a little more quickly recently. The spread rate has increased slightly from last week but still falls within targets.
New Mexico is falling short, however, of a benchmark set for how long it takes to notify and quarantine people who may have been exposed to the coronavirus.
The state’s target is to reach people within 36 hours of a contact testing positive to alert them about possible exposure.
The state Health Department reported about two weeks ago that it was taking 29 hours to isolate a person’s contacts after a positive test, but that figure ballooned to 47 hours in an update just made public.
“It’s critical that we are able to communicate with those that have tested positive and also to communicate with their contacts,” Jodi McGinnis Porter of the Human Services Department said in a written statement to the Albuquerque Journal.
She added: “It’s really important that people provide accurate information for contact tracers to communicate with them.”
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.
