New Mexico tops 40,000 virus cases with record hospitalizations; Doña Ana County has 1 of 7 deaths

SANTA FE, New Mexico -- New Mexico's latest surge of Covid-19 led to an all-time high for hospitalizations on Friday, as state health officials reported 797 new cases to bring the statewide total past 40,000.

The state also reported seven additional deaths, putting the death total since the pandemic began at 960. Total cases numbered 40,168.

Among the latest fatalities was a woman in her 60s from Doña Ana County, who had been hospitalized with underlying conditions.

It brought the death count to 66 in Doña Ana County, which also had 130 new daily cases for a pandemic total of 5,298.

Hospitalizations hit a record for the state with 229 patients hospitalized on Friday. Officials said 77 percent of beds and 76 percent of ICU spaces across New Mexico hospitals were occupied, counting patients for both virus and non-virus illnesses.

Health officials pointed to data that shows the demographics of Covid-19 cases migrating toward the younger ages and the record uptick of hospitalizations, saying there are concerns about the state’s health care system reaching maximum capacity for treating patients.

Those concerns come as state officials have been pushing people to stay home and adhere to the provisions of the state's current public health order that took effect Friday. That includes limiting retail hours and the temporary closure of businesses that the state determines are hot spots for the virus.

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. (The Associated Press contributed to this report.)