10 more southern New Mexico virus deaths as governor touts vaccines, but warns cases still high

SANTA FE, New Mexico -- Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and state officials on Thursday applauded the success of the Covid-19 vaccination rollout, saying more than 100,000 shots had been administered, but they also warned that cases are still going up.

As part of the vaccine effort, the state announced a new website offering data on vaccinations, provider locations, and registration.

A total of 2,836 people have died from the coronavirus statewide, with 29 added fatalities seen Thursday, amid tight restrictions on public gatherings and non-essential business activities across most of the state.

Ten of the latest deaths occurred in the southern New Mexico counties of Dona Ana, Luna and Otero and included...

• A man in his 50s who was an inmate at the Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility.
• A woman in her 60s from Doña Ana County.
• A woman in her 60s from Luna County who was hospitalized.
• A man in his 70s from Doña Ana County who was hospitalized.
• A man in his 70s from Otero County who was hospitalized.
• A man in his 80s from Doña Ana County who was hospitalized.
• A man in his 80s from Luna County with underlying conditions.
• A man in his 80s from Otero County who was hospitalized.
• A woman in her 80s from Doña Ana County who was hospitalized.
• A woman in her 80s who was a resident of the BeeHive Homes facility in Deming.

There were 1,434 new virus cases reported across the state on Thursday, the first day in while with over 1,000 added infections, for a total to date of 160,543. Officials also noted the detection of the first known case of a more contagious variant of Covid-19 in the state.

The governor indicated that a dozen of New Mexico's 33 counties have seen improvements in the rate of spread and positive tests over the last two weeks, while 16 counties worsened in both metrics.

Only Harding and Union counties are currently able to relax some public health requirements. The rest — including the most populous counties of Bernalillo and Dona Ana — remain in the highest risk category.

Dr. David Scrase of the New Mexico Human Services Department said hospitals still continue to be very busy. There were 691 Covid patients hospitalized Thursday, with 126 on ventilators.