Dinosaur museum reopens

Forty-five people visited the Mesalands Dinosaur Museum in Tucumcari on Saturday - the first time tourists had been able to tour its exhibits in more than five months.

New Mexico's governor announced Thursday that museums with static, non-interactive displays could reopen Saturday at 25% capacity under an amended COVID-19 health order.

The state's education chief also announced county criteria that would allow schools to partially reopen to in-person classes after Labor Day. Quay County initially didn't meet those benchmarks, but its numbers dropped into acceptable territory by the weekend.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham the previous day announced parts of her amended health order, also effective Saturday, that allowed churches to operate at 40% capacity and again permit indoor dining at restaurants and breweries at 25% capacity. Indoor dining was closed in early July after a surge of COVID-19 cases in the state.

Jesse Kenney, his wife Olivia, 17-year-old son Alex and his mother-in-law Juana of Tollhouse, California, were the first customers Saturday morning to tour the dinosaur museum's renovated and added displays.

"I'm so excited," museum director Loni Monahan said Thursday afternoon in a text after the governor's announcement. "It's been a long six months, but we created so many great new exhibits we could not have done otherwise if we were open full time."

Monahan said the health order that allows 25% capacity meant a maximum of 35 people in the museum at once, which it seldom attains.

Monahan said to foster social distancing, museum staff taped "safe zone" lines at each display's viewing area. The main interior door was propped open so no one needed to touch its handles. Plexiglas shields were hung in front of the registers. Staff kept sanitizing wipes and sprays on hand in the gift shop. Paying customers also were asked to sign in if contact tracing was needed.

The museum also closed a few interactive displays, including the dinosaur dig area for children.

School reopenings

Education Secretary Ryan Stewart said while the Public Education Department's priority is to return children to in-person learning after Labor Day, he said he wanted to ensure the safety of students and staff.

Stewart said requirements for re-entry of in-person classes at individual school districts would be the entire state meeting the COVID-19 gating criteria, that a county be in the green zone for per-capita new COVID-19 cases and test positivity rates, and that each district has a PED-approved re-entry plan and safety and support plan.

New Mexico met seven of eight gating criteria last week, and Human Services Secretary David Scrase expressed confidence it would meet the eighth once "data issues" with contact tracing were resolved.

At one point last week, Quay County had a rate of 17.1 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people and a test positivity rate of 10.1% - above the class-reopening criteria of 8 cases per 100,000 and a 5% rate. Those numbers fell below those thresholds by the weekend, according to data from the Covid Act Now website. Quay County had seen just two confirmed coronavirus cases in a week.

Scrase said the state is tinkering with the formula for the school re-entry plan to ensure one case in a small-population county wouldn't throw it from the green zone to the red. He said he anticipated it would be finalized before Labor Day weekend. He expressed hope counties in the red zone - many in the southeast part of the state - would lower their rates before Sept. 8.

Sept. 8 would be the first day New Mexico would allow all elementary children to attend some in-person classes if the criteria are met. Re-entry for in-person classes for middle-school and high-school students wasn't announced, but Lujan Grisham previously indicated those might happen in late September and early October respectively.

Lujan Grisham cautioned residents to remain vigilant against the disease – especially with the upcoming Labor Day weekend – despite the relaxation of restrictions. She said during a recent road trip to Espanola, she didn't see a single resident there who wore masks in public.

"We have to do better because if we don't, we can't successfully introduce risk," she said, adding the state could face a tough winter with the addition of seasonal illnesses.

Late in the briefing, Lujan Grisham said she and her staff were looking at additional relaxations of the mandatory 14-day quarantine – or for the duration of their stay -- for out-of-state visitors.

Other relaxations

Lujan Grisham announced Wednesday the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions for restaurants, churches and breweries effective Saturday.

The amended emergency health order contained these changes:

• Houses of worship could operate at 40% of maximum occupancy of any enclosed building, an increase from 25%. Houses of worship could, as before, conduct services outdoors or provide services through audiovisual means.

• Food and drink establishments (including restaurants, breweries, wineries, distillers, cafes, coffee shops or other similar establishments) may provide indoor dining at 25% of maximum occupancy.

• Food and drink establishments may continue to provide outdoor dining, carryout and delivery services. Tables - inside or outside - must be spaced at least 6 feet apart, with no more than six patrons are permitted at a single table.

The governor also announced a doubling of the mass-gatherings maximum from five to 10 people.

Lujan Grisham said the health order would remain in effect through at least mid-September.