Las Cruces follows in El Paso’s footsteps, getting 3 mobile morgues as virus deaths surge
LAS CRUCES, New Mexico -- As of Friday there were at least three mobile morgues deployed in Las Cruces as the Borderland region sees a surge in Covid-19 hospitalizations and deaths.
Doña Ana County's pandemic death toll has reached at least 121 - with 48 of those fatalities occurring within just the past two weeks.
As a result, Las Cruces seems to be following in the footsteps of El Paso, which has now deployed ten mobile morgues between hospitals and the county medical examiner's office.
At Mountainview Regional Medical Center in Las Cruces, a spokesperson said two mobile morgues owned by state medical examiner's office have been deployed there.
Meantime, a mobile morgue is also parked at Memorial Medical Center's loading dock in Las Cruces.
"The refrigeration unit that is there is part of our emergency preparedness plan," said Ryan Perkins, a spokesman for MMC.
He could not confirm whether the morgue was in use Friday afternoon, but he said the trailer arrived "earlier this week."
Perkins also couldn't say if MMC was at or near capacity for its intensive care unit or general hospital beds, while the Mountainview spokesperson would only say their facility was "managing" the increased patient flow.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's medical advisor Dr. David Scrase was quoted by the Associated Press on Thursday as saying that hospitals statewide were reporting 92% of their general hospital beds were full.
Perkins expressed his gratitude for the support of the community through what has been a challenging year. Ahead of the holiday season, he encouraged Las Cruces residents to practice social distancing and avoid gatherings.
"Remember that the household is different than the family, at times," Perkins said. "So bringing the big family together for the holiday gatherings probably isn't the best thing to do."
