Eight COVID-19 cases reported Friday in county

The New Mexico Department of Health on Friday reported eight confirmed cases of coronavirus in Quay County, pushing the total to the 300 mark since the pandemic began in March.

One case was not accounted for in the DOH’s data concerning age breakdowns, genders or ZIP codes. Five females and two males were infected in the county, all in the Tucumcari ZIP code. The breakdown by age is two age 9 and younger, one age 10 to 19, one age 40 to 49, one age 50 to 59 and two age 60 to 69.

Quay County continues to see an elevated rate of COVID-19 cases in December, with 53 so far. A total of 140 cases were reported in the county in November. Nearly two-thirds of the county’s cases have occurred in November and December.

The total number of cases in the county rose to 300, with five deaths. A total of 99 people in the county have been deemed by the state as recovered from the virus.

The latest breakdown by ZIP code since the pandemic began is 231 in Tucumcari, 46 in Logan, seven in House, six in San Jon, four in McAlister, two in Nara Visa, two in Bard and one in Grady (part of which extends into the county).

According to the state’s COVID-19 rapid-response database, one confirmed case each was reported Thursday at Subway and New Mexico Department of Transportation, District 4, both in Tucumcari.

A typical rapid response consists of isolating positive cases, quarantining close contacts for 14 days, ceasing operations to the extent necessary to isolate affected areas, disinfecting these areas, implementing safety procedures and resuming operations. Typically, operations are ceased for fewer than 24 hours before it is safe to reopen.

In the state, the DOH reported 1,849 cases on Friday. The total number in New Mexico since the pandemic began rose to over 116,000.

A total of 43 deaths were reported Friday in New Mexico, raising the total to 1,889.

A total of 932 people in the state were hospitalized with the disease Thursday, an increase of 15 from the previous day.

The Amarillo area reported on Friday more than 7,000 active cases of the disease, with a 31% hospitalization rate. The number of active cases dropped by about 100 and the hospitalization rate by 5% overnight.

In the U.S., more than 15.7 million confirmed cases of coronavirus have been reported through Friday since the pandemic began, with more than 294,000 deaths.