Health leaders say New Mexico on downside of virus surge; Doña Ana County has just 1 new death
SANTA FE, New Mexico -- New Mexico health officials reported an additional 1,272 confirmed Covid-19 cases Tuesday, pushing the statewide total since the pandemic began to more than 132,000. Another 23 deaths also were reported, bringing that tally to more than 2,200.
Doña Ana County had just one of the state's latest deaths, a woman in her 70s who was hospitalized, to bring their tally to 261. The county also had 140 of the state's new cases for a total of 16,374 to date.
Top health officials said during an afternoon briefing that New Mexico appears to be on the downside of the latest surge as the seven-day rolling average of confirmed cases has been declining. While test positivity remains high, it's lower than it was just a couple of weeks ago.
“We think the drop that we're seeing in cases is related to the reset and people being careful over Thanksgiving,” Human Services Secretary Dr. David Scrase said, referring to tougher public health restrictions that were imposed in mid-November.
Officials still are worried about Christmas and the potential for a post-holiday surge if people choose to gather with family or friends, he said.
Vaccinations among frontline health care workers also are ongoing, with about 14,000 shots being administered so far.
Health Secretary Dr. Tracie Collins said the state has launched a new registration app where people can sign up for vaccinations.
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.
