Four COVID-19 cases reported Saturday in county

The New Mexico Department of Health on Saturday reported four confirmed cases of coronavirus in Quay County.

Three of the cases were reported in the Tucumcari ZIP code, with one in the Nara Visa ZIP code.

Two females and two males were infected in the county. The breakdown by age is two age 20 to 29, one age 30 to 39 and one age 40 to 49.

Quay County continues to see an elevated rate of COVID-19 cases in December, with 57 so far. A total of 140 cases were reported in the county in November.

The total number of cases in the county rose to 304, with five deaths. A total of 101 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 234 in Tucumcari, 46 in Logan, seven in House, six in San Jon, four in McAlister, three in Nara Visa, two in Bard and one in Grady (part of the ZIP code extends into the county).

According to the state’s COVID-19 rapid-response database, one confirmed case was reported Friday at Mesalands Community College and the City of Tucumcari. Both entities also had one confirmed case reported Tuesday.

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 1,803 cases on Saturday. The total number in New Mexico since the pandemic began rose to over 118,000.

A total of 24 deaths were reported Saturday in New Mexico, raising the total to over 1,900.

A total of 907 people in the state were hospitalized with the disease Saturday, a decrease of 25 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 16 million confirmed cases of coronavirus have been reported through Saturday since the pandemic began, with more than 297,000 deaths.