Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Three more confirmed cases of coronavirus were reported Friday in the Logan ZIP code by the New Mexico Department of Health.
With that, Logan has exceeded the number of cases (33) since the pandemic began to Tucumcari's 32, despite the population of the Logan ZIP code being less than one-fifth of Tucumcari's.
The San Jon ZIP code has five total cases. The total number of cases in Quay County by ZIP code is 70, which is a discrepancy from the DOH's overall reported total of 69.
The latest cases were two people age 60 to 69 and one age 70 to 79, according to the DOH website.
No cases were reported Saturday, Sunday or Monday in the county.
With six cases in four days, it appeared Quay County again was on the cusp of failing to meet the state criteria to further open its schools. The state will announce 14-day averages for per-capita cases and COVID-19 test positivity rates later this week.
Quay County had 9.4 average daily cases per 100,000 people from Aug. 19 to Sept. 1. Its positivity rate during that period was 7.3%.
The state criteria to get into the desired green zone is fewer than 8 average daily cases per 100,000 and a positivity rate of under 5%.
From Sept. 2 through Monday, Quay County saw seven confirmed cases and 111 COVID-19 tests. That would be a test positivity rate of 6.3%.
According to U.S. Census data, Quay County’s estimated population was 8,253 in 2019, the latest number available. To meet the threshold of eight daily cases per 100,000 people, the county would be capped at nine cases or fewer during the two-week period.
In the county, 41 people have been deemed to have recovered from the virus. A total of 1,742 tests for COVID-19 have been administered in Quay County.
In New Mexico, 81 confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported Monday, bringing the overall total to more than 26,800.
No deaths were reported statewide Monday, keeping the overall total at 823.
A total of 60 people in the state are hospitalized with the disease. A total of 14,470 people have been deemed to have recovered from the virus.
In the U.S., 6.5 million people have been confirmed with the virus, with 194,000 deaths as of Monday.
Health briefing
Lujan Grisham said during a health briefing Thursday she likely would “review” COVID-19 safeguards for youth sports and practices this week.
She also hinted at relaxations on camping restrictions. She also noted data indicate good trends in the restaurant industry, including a decline in COVID-19 rapid-response cases.
Even with the imminent relaxation of several curbs, Lujan Grisham said it’s “not an open invitation” to ignore the stay-at-home order while the virus still was present.
Human Services Secretary David Scrase said the seven-day average of COVID-19 in New Mexico had fallen to 101 — well below the gating criteria of 168. He said those were the best numbers in four to six months.
The state’s spread rate of the disease was 0.76 — an all-time low, Scrase said, and below the gating criteria of 1.05. The statewide test positive rate was 2.3%, well below the threshold of 5%.