Six more confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported

Six more confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported in six days in Quay County, bringing the total to 22 overall since the pandemic began.

The 13th, 14th and 15th cases in the county were reported Friday during a 22-day span.

The New Mexico Department of Health reported the three latest cases were two people age 10 to 19 and one person age 30 to 39. Two were females; one was male. All were reported in the Tucumcari ZIP code.

Eighteen of the coronavirus cases in the county remained active through Sunday. Three have been deemed as recovered from the virus, and one death was reported in April.

Nearly 900 people in Quay County have been tested for the virus.

A total of 241 people in New Mexico were confirmed with COVID-19 on Sunday, the 18th consecutive day the state had surpassed the 200 mark.

Nearly 17,000 cases of COVID-19 in New Mexico have been reported since the pandemic began.

Two deaths were reported in the state Sunday, bringing the total to 571.

A total of 161 people remain hospitalized with COVID-19.

A total of 6,764 people have been deemed as recovered from the disease in New Mexico.

In Monday morning, more than 3.7 million people in the United States had been confirmed with the virus, with more than 140,000 deaths.

More data

Human Services Secretary David Scrase said during an online briefing Friday that New Mexico’s seven-day average of daily confirmed coronavirus cases had risen past 270 from the low 100s a few weeks before.

Scrase said Lea, Curry, Eddy and Chavez counties in the southeast part of the state had seen a sharp uptick in cases, probably from travelers or commuters from neighboring Texas. Bernalillo County also was seeing sharp increases in cases. He said all parts of New Mexico were seeing increases except the northwest region.

He reported the state’s spread rate of the virus was 1.09 — still above the goal of 1.05. The rate dropped to as low as 0.93 a month ago.

He attributed the increases to what he called “COVID fatigue.”

"I think it's people being tired of COVID and not really believing they're going to get it," he said.

He expressed concern over future supplies of intensive-care beds and personal protective equipment.

Scrase said New Mexico saw sharp increases in cases of people age 10 to 30 years old. He said the rise in cases in younger people was troubling, especially at a time when the state was considering reopening its schools next month. He said evidence shows COVID-19 cases don’t rise sharply among children with the opening of schools, but cases among teachers do.

Scrase said his staff and analysts at Sandia Labs this week would present their prediction models and recommendations for school openings this fall.

Meanwhile, cases for elderly age groups held steady or decreased.

He said hospitalizations in the state began to rise starting in early July, but the death rate continued to fall. With an overall rise in cases, however, he said he wasn’t certain the low death rate would hold.

Scrase said the seven-day average for daily COVID-19 tests had risen to more than 6,700, up from about 4,000 a few weeks ago.

He said a recent study by King’s College in London indicated the body’s immune response after exposure to COVID-19 drops sharply after three months, adding to pessimism a vaccine would give lasting immunity. Scrase pointed out no long-term vaccine has been developed for RNA viruses such as COVID-19.

However, he said more than 150 companies are working on a vaccine, and 23 are conducting human trials with vaccine prototypes. He surmised a coming COVID-19 vaccine would be an annual shot, much like current-day influenza shots.

Scrase said more studies have shown the efficacy of mask in slowing the spread of the disease. He cited a case in Springfield, Missouri, in May where two hairdressers contracted COVID-19 and had symptoms. Both hairdressers wore masks before they were quarantined. Of nearly 140 customers exposed by them, no infections were reported, nor did they test positive for the virus.

He said people who wear facial coverings should ensure they cover the nose, mouth and chin. Masks with valves aren’t recommended because they allow more air to move from the user’s mouth.