Governor renews restaurant restrictions

Restaurateurs in Tucumcari and other parts of Quay County felt a bad sense of deja vu when the governor re-imposed a ban on indoor dining effective Monday, citing a steep rise in coronavirus cases.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Thursday during a briefing that restaurants and breweries would be banned from offering indoor dining and limited to carryout or delivery of meals. It was a repeat of the restrictions imposed in mid-March through early June.

Restaurants with outside or patio seating are limited to 50% occupancy for diners.

Todd Duplantis, who operates two restaurants in Tucumcari and one in Logan, acknowledged Friday he was being measured in his comments about the new restrictions because he also is a city commissioner.

“I’m not happy with it, of course,” he said. “I don’t know any businessperson who’s happy with it.

“Two weeks ago, I saw there was going to be a spike, and I had a funny feeling this was going to happen. Unfortunately, it did exactly what I thought it would do.”

He said the most daunting part about the new COVID-19 restrictions is informing about 30 employees about possible layoffs.

“The weight of trying to ensure they have jobs, it’s tough,” Duplantis said. “How do we tell our employees, ‘OK, you’re going to lose your hours again’? That’s the worst part of this whole thing.”

Duplantis also said many restaurants also will lose money because the produce they ordered before the new restrictions will spoil before it’s used.

“The problem is we’ve already placed our truck orders for this next weekend,” he said. “I’m not the only one; all of the restaurants are nearly on the same schedule. We spend a lot of money on that food, and how we’re stuck with an inventory that will go bad on us.”

Yvette Peacock, co-owner of Del’s Restauarant in Tucumcari, said Friday she again would lean on a side venture, Del’s 66 Market, she opened during the early days of the pandemic as an additional revenue source.

“We’ll just get through it like we did last time,” she said. “We’ll try to get our grocery store going more and help us get through it better.

“I’m sure we’ll have to lay off people again. Hopefully, it won’t last too long,” she added.

Lujan Grisham said she re-imposed restrictions on restaurants reluctantly and felt residents had gotten lax with adhering to safeguards.

“Restaurants didn’t do this to New Mexicans,” she said. “New Mexicans did this to restaurants.”

The governor said restaurants that flout the regulations would be subject to a cease-and-desist order and a possible $5,000-a-day fine.

More on masks

Nancy Wright, a pediatrician in Las Vegas and member of the New Mexico Medical Society, said wearing masks during the pandemic “is simply the right thing to do” and could save many lives in the coming months.

“A lot of people suffer from the virus even if they don’t die from it,” she added.

Scrase said earlier in the briefing even young people are suffering from strokes because of COVID-19 infections. He said a recent study also suggests the virus damages male fertility.

In addition to a $100 fine, Lujan Grisham said she is urging a zero-tolerance policy to those who don’t wear masks in public — even for those who are exercising.

“There is no dispute in the medical community about the efficacy about lowering transmission rate by wearing face coverings,” she said.

The governor said she was “going to use every tool” to ensure compliance on masks, including park rangers. She said would consult with the attorney general to persuade local law enforcement agencies to enforce the edict.

Spread rates

Human Services Secretary Richard Scrase said Thursday the state saw a 79% increase in the seven-day average of COVID-19 cases during the previous 16 days.

He said all areas of New Mexico were seeing a rise in cases except the once-stricken northwest area. Scrase also said the state was recording increases of cases in people age 20 to 40 and children under 19.

Scrase said the state’s spread rate of the disease stood at 1.16 — above the goal of 1.05. The spread rate in the southeast part of the state, which includes Quay County, was 1.22. The northeast has a rate of 1.33.

He noted a sharp uptick in cases in southeast parts of the state. Lea County has a 8.6% daily growth rate in cases, compared to the 1.7% state average. Curry County has a 5% growth rate.

Scrase said Arizona’s intensive-care units were 91% full, and Texas recorded a 40% increase in its seven-day average of COVID-19 cases. State officials have feared a spillover of cases from those states.

Health Department Secretary Kathy Kunkel said the agency’s rapid-response teams were called to 109 outbreaks on July 6-9 and 165 from June 22 to July 5 — a steep increase.

Other curbs

The governor also closed all state parks — including Conchas Lake and Ute Lake — to out-of-state visitors. Those who use the parks must show proof of residency when they enter.

State parks have remained at day-use only since the pandemic began.

Lujan Grisham also announced football and soccer would not be played in the fall. (See other story in this edition.) She acknowledged the rise in COVID-19 cases also is jeopardizing a planned reopening of schools in August.