New Mexico’s governor says virus numbers getting better, hints at lifting more restrictions

SANTA FE, New Mexico -- New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and state officials at a coronavirus briefing on Thursday afternoon said the state was seeing its "best numbers in four to six months," but cautioned against complacency given that any impact for Labor Day would remain unknown for another week or so.

The state's rolling seven-day average of daily cases was at 105, the lowest level since mid-March. The spread rate was also at an all-time low.

"I really appreciate New Mexicans making huge differences, congratulations are in order," said the governor, but she added more improvements are still needed in some areas of the state.

It's possible that restrictions on youth sports and training could be eased if New Mexico continues to make progress in limiting the spread of the virus, Lujan Grisham indicated.

The current public health order will expire next week and she said that there's an opportunity to review the current restrictions, while also adding that the first priority is education and the safe reopening of schools.

On Thursday, there were 161 new cases statewide, totaling 26,429 during the pandemic. There were also three new deaths of New Mexicans, for a tally to date of 816.

In southern New Mexico, which officials indicated still showed "more activity" than some other parts of the state, Doña Ana County had 17 new cases for an infection total of 2,989.

Hospitalizations continued on a downward trend, with just 80 Covid-19 patients as of Thursday; 15 of those patients required ventilators.

The governor indicated the state was still meeting its gating criteria of roughly 5,000 tests per day, one of the best testing rates in the nation and the best in the western U.S.; the total number of virus tests administered to date in the state was 806,999.

The afternoon virus briefing came after Lujan Grisham testified earlier in the day before a Congressional committee about the financial impact of the coronavirus on the state's budget and economy.

She told federal lawmakers that New Mexico was among a handful of states that had "taken tough and proactive measures to blunt the spread of Covid-19."