Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
New Mexico's governor on Monday officially extended her public health emergency order to April 30 and added new restrictions to combat the coronavirus pandemic, including limiting occupancy in essential businesses.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's order stated essential businesses – including grocery stores – must limit occupancy to 20% or less of the maximum occupancy of the retail space. The governor said during a briefing Friday she likely would impose those limits.
Several businesses around New Mexico, mindful of the pleas for social distancing and ban on public gatherings of more than five people, already had imposed their own limits before her order. The Family Dollar store in Tucumcari, for example, allowed no more than five customers inside, with an employee monitoring the door to ensure customers didn't go inside when it reached its maximum.
Maximum occupancy at hotels, motels, RV parks and other places was reduced to 25%, down from the previous 50%.
Automobile dealerships, payday lenders and liquor stores also were added to the list of non-essential businesses that must close.
The state Department of Health has confirmed 686 cases of COVID-19 and 12 deaths as of Monday afternoon. More than 19,000 people have been tested for the disease.
No cases had been reported in Quay County. A total of 25 people had been tested for the virus at Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari by Monday, according to a spokeswoman.
Nationwide, more than 362,000 cases and 10,000 deaths had been confirmed. The number of cases globally surged past 1.3 million.