Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Despite declaring “the curve has flattened” in coronavirus cases, New Mexico’s Human Services secretary said Friday he wouldn’t feel comfortable lifting more restrictions until he received about three weeks’ worth of data this month.
David Scrase said during a webinar the decision whether to loosen restrictions on businesses and other activities in New Mexico ultimately would come from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. She amended the state’s public health order June 1 to allow dine-in eating at restaurants, higher occupancy at lodging establishments and the reopening of gymnasiums, salons and massage parlors.
Scrase added he wouldn’t be confident about an “aggressive” reopening of the state’s economy until he’d received about three weeks of coronavirus data, which would be about June 22. He said it takes a typical person to become symptomatic with the virus about five days after being infected and spread rate from those individuals would be better known some days after that.
Lujan Grisham has tentatively targeted July 1 as the next phase of the reopening.
Scrase said unlike neighboring Texas and Arizona, the state was meeting almost all the gating criteria for reopening its economy. Even with the one aspect — average daily COVID-19 tests — falling short, he said New Mexico was just below its target of 5,000. He said he was monitoring daily the covidexitstrategy.org website that monitors states’ key measures.
He said he was “watching closely” the caseload in Curry County, which saw an uptick probably because many people there commute to Lubbock, Texas.
Scrase noted it was unknown whether several protests across the state over George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis police custody would lead to a rise in cases because many protesters wore protective masks. He noted “good evidence” that masks help prevent the spread of the virus and cited 21 studies where masks reduce the infection rate by 47% to 80%.
During a briefing Thursday, Lujan Grisham said she was concerned about an increase in COVID-19 cases after the protests in several cities in the state. She praised protesters who wore masks but acknowledged they don’t give complete protection from the virus.
“Protesting in a COVID world, there is a risk,” she said.
She said her office has not interfered with protests because upholding the First Amendment is “critical.” Lujan Grisham, however, said she would recommend virtual environments for protesters to convey future concerns.
In an answer to a reporter’s question, Scrase said he would recommend reversing the relaxation of restrictions if a region saw an increase in cases “without an explanation.”
Scrase also said the Public Education Department is working on a plan for reopening schools in August that includes masks, social distancing and distance learning for older, more vulnerable teachers or families fearful of the disease. He acknowledged masking and distancing would be “tricky” in schools and buses.
Latest data
An additional 124 new cases of COVID-19 were reported Monday in New Mexico, bringing the total to 9,062.
Four more deaths were reported Monday, bringing the total to 400.
In Quay County, the total number of coronavirus cases remained at five, with one death. More than 400 people have tested for the virus. The last confirmed case was reported May 12.
The New Mexico Department of Health reported that 3,380 have recovered from the disease. A total of 183 remain hospitalized with COVID-19.
McKinley County in the western part of the state had the most cases by far, with 2,746 through Monday.
In Amarillo, more than 2,100 active cases were reported through Monday.
In the U.S., almost 2 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 had been reported Monday, with more than 110,000 deaths.
Collections on hold
The New Mexico Supreme Court on Friday announced it would suspend new consumer debt collection orders effective June 8. The suspension will remain in effect until a further order by the court.
The court stated it acted “in response to the extraordinary circumstances presented by the current public health emergency” and balanced the interests of creditors trying to collect money owed to them while “protecting the due process rights of New Mexicans to claim exemptions and protect their assets from garnishment and execution as provided by law.”
The order does not apply to child-support debts.