Southern New Mexico has 4 of state’s 21 new virus deaths as vaccine doses begin arriving
SANTA FE, New Mexico -- The New Mexico Department of Health reported 21 additional coronavirus-related deaths on Monday as the statewide death toll nears 2,000 amid the arrival of the first vaccine doses.
Four of those latest deaths occurred in the southern New Mexico counties of Dona Ana, Luna and Otero. The victims ranged in age from their 40s to 70s and included:
- A man in his 40s from Otero County who was hospitalized.
- A man in his 60s from Dona Ana County who was hospitalized.
- A man in his 60s from Luna County who was a resident of the Mimbres Memorial Nursing Home in Deming.
- A woman in her 70s from Dona Ana County who had underlying conditions.
The statewide death total is now at 1,978, while the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases since the pandemic began is at 121,299.
New Mexico saw 1,507 new cases reported Monday, with 140 of those from Dona Ana County to raise its pandemic total to 15,524.
There was a 16% positivity result of the tests analyzed in Monday's report from the state, according to KOB-TV in Albuquerque.
Across the state, there were also 860 people currently being treated for Covid-19 in hospitals.
While cases have decreased, hospitalizations and deaths remain high in New Mexico as the first shipments of the Pfizer vaccine began arriving Monday. Las Cruces hospitals won't see their allocations until later this week.
“The vaccine is coming, and that is good news — but there will be new Covid-19 patients today, tomorrow, and the next day,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a tweet. “Please join the many New Mexicans who continue to use the tools we have to save lives: stay home and mask up if you must go out.”
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.
