Eighth COVID-19 death in Quay County reported

The New Mexico Department of Health on Friday reported the eighth COVID-19 death in Quay County since the pandemic began.

The latest death was a woman in her 80s, according to an email from the agency. The DOH does not give the identities of those who have been infected or died from the virus.

Three deaths were reported in the county in November and two in December.

Three new confirmed case of the virus also were reported in the county Monday. After a relative lull in late December, Quay County has recorded 34 cases in January, including 14 during a two-day period over the weekend.

The latest Quay County cases were one each in the Tucumcari, Logan and McAlister ZIP codes, affecting two women and one man. The age breakdowns were one age 40 to 49, one age 50 to 59 and one age 80 to 89.

The total number of confirmed cases in the county since the pandemic began rose to 366.

The total number of people in the county who have been deemed as recovered from the virus rose to 203 by Monday.

The latest breakdown by ZIP code since the pandemic began is 281 in Tucumcari, 51 in Logan, nine in House, eight in McAlister, seven in San Jon, four 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, these confirmed cases were reported in the county in the past week:

• Trigg Memorial Hospital, Tucumcari, one case reported Tuesday;

• Everyone’s Federal Credit Union, Tucumcari, one case reported Wednesday;

• Mesalands Community College, Tucumcari, one case reported Thursday;

• Autumn Blessings, Logan, one case reported Thursday;

• Quay County Detention Center, Tucumcari, one case reported Friday;

• Flying J Travel Plaza, Tucumcari, one case reported Friday.

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 New Mexico, a total of 933 new cases of the virus were reported Monday. The state’s seven-day average was nearly 1,400 – a rise of nearly 300 since Jan. 1.

The state’s total overall since the pandemic began rose to more than 157,000.

A total of 15 deaths were reported in the state Monday, raising the toll to 2,764.

A total of 704 people in New Mexico were reported hospitalized with COVID-19 on Monday, a number that remained mostly stable in recent days.

In Amarillo, more than 3,100 active cases of COVID-19 were reported Monday, the latest date available, with a 22% hospitalization rate. Both numbers remained steady in recent days.

In the U.S., more than 22.5 million people have been confirmed with the disease through Monday, with more than 375,000 deaths.