Dona Ana County woman in her 30s among 20 New Mexico virus deaths

SANTA FE, New Mexico -- New Mexico has now confirmed nearly 165,000 Covid-19 infections since the pandemic began while deaths are approaching the 3,000 mark. That includes a Doña Ana County woman in her 30s and another in her 70s who were among the 20 additional deaths reported Tuesday.

The number of people hospitalized in New Mexico due to the virus was just over 640 on Tuesday, slightly higher than the day before but still one of the lowest levels in months.

But the recent decrease in statewide Covid-19 hospitalizations is not enough to ease up on mask wearing, social distancing or other measures aimed at curbing spread, top hospital officials said Tuesday.

They described the recent decrease as more of a "plateau," saying modeling suggests they could continue to see increases through February.

“The plateau that we’ve reached currently is at a very high level, and we can’t afford a further surge, an increase in patients to come back,” said Dr. Vesta Sandoval, Lovelace Health System’s chief medical officer.

Virus spread rates also are still far above New Mexico’s targets for reopening, and public health mandates are expected to remain in place for many months for the state’s most populated areas.

Still, New Mexico has among one of the highest vaccination rates in the U.S., having administered more than 143,000 doses so far.

New Mexico lawmakers began their virtual 60-day legislative session Tuesday, with the pandemic response and relief efforts expected to be priorities.

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.