Two new confirmed cases reported in Quay

The New Mexico Department of Health reported two new confirmed cases of coronavirus in Quay County on Sunday, both in the Tucumcari ZIP code.

The latest cases were one male and one female. One was a child under age 10; the other was a person over 90 years old.

No cases were reported in the county on Monday.

The 14 cases in most recent seven-day period was a slowdown from the previous seven days that saw 18 cases.

Quay County also appeared to be on the cusp of landing in the yellow zone when state COVID-19 case outlook evaluations are announced Wednesday. Such a designation would allow the loosening of health restrictions, including the resumption of indoor dining in restaurants.

According to Quay County Sun calculations through Monday, the county’s test-positivity rate stood at 4.4% since Jan. 13. The benchmark is 5% and below. Meeting that would put the county in the yellow zone.

Quay County cannot be in the green zone because it has exceeded the rate of 8 daily coronavirus cases per 100,000 people. The county cannot have more than 10 cases in a two-week period without exceeding the benchmark. Quay County has recorded 23 cases since Jan. 13.

Neighboring Harding County landed in the green zone earlier this month because it recorded no cases during its previous two weeks. Neighboring Union County landed in the yellow zone.

The total number of cases in Quay County since the pandemic began rose to 395, with eight deaths.

The breakdown by ZIP code through Monday was 306 in Tucumcari, 56 in Logan, nine in House, eight in McAlister, seven in San Jon, four in Nara Visa, three in Grady (part of which extends into Quay County) and two in Bard.

A COVID-19 rapid response was referred Thursday to one confirmed case at a New Mexico Department of Transportation facility in Nara Visa. Another referral for one confirmed case was reported Saturday at the Allsup’s convenience store in Logan.

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 494 new COVID-19 cases were reported Monday, bringing the overall total to more than 169,000 since the pandemic began.

The seven-day average for cases in New Mexico has fallen to fewer than 800, a drop of more than 200 in just a week’s time. That, however, remains well above the gating criteria of 168 cases in the seven-day average.

A total of 12 deaths were reported in the state Monday, increasing that total to 3,157.

A total of 627 people were hospitalized with the disease Saturday. No hospitalization numbers were reported Sunday or Monday because of a disruption in reporting. That number recently has held steady after a downward trend from a peak of more than 900 several weeks ago.

The Amarillo metro region on Monday reported more than 2,900 active cases of the disease with a 16.7% hospitalization rate. Both numbers have been trending downward in recent weeks.

In the U.S., the total number of coronavirus cases rose to more than 25.2 million, with more than 420,000 deaths, through Monday.