Quay County cases still growing

Quay County last week continued to see growth in number of coronavirus cases with 40, including five confirmed by the state’s Department of Health on Friday.

That compared to 31 cases during the previous week and 14 the week before that. The increase was the latest sign the highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19 — now the dominant strain in New Mexico and the country — was spreading fast in the county, as well.

Covid Act Now on Thursday also changed Quay County’s risk rating for the virus to the “severe risk” category — the worst available.

Last week, cases were reported in these ZIP codes: 30 in Tucumcari, six in Logan, three in San Jon and one in McAlister.

The county's overall case total rose to 628, with 11 deaths, since the pandemic began in spring 2020.

The breakdown of COVID-19 cases by ZIP code in Quay County through Friday was 435 in Tucumcari, 122 in Logan, 35 in San Jon, 11 in House, 10 in McAlister, six in Nara Visa, six in Bard and five in Grady (part of which extends into Quay County).

Quay County recorded 53.6 daily cases per 100,000 and saw a test-positivity rate of 18.48% for the period from July 27 to Aug. 9. Both were well above the criteria of 10 cases per 100,000 and a 7.5% positivity rate. The county also ranks among the five worst counties in the state by those benchmarks.

New Mexico Health Secretary David Scrase said during a briefing Wednesday that southeast New Mexico — especially Eddy County — was seeing the steepest rise in coronavirus cases.

Scrase said Los Alamos National Laboratory’s modeling crew projects statewide cases to rise to 900 to 1,500 per day in late August or early September.

Scrase also continued to urge residents to use masks in indoor settings. He said studies have found properly fitted masks block 77% to 85% of cough particles that contain the virus. Los Alamos National Labs projects universal masking would reduce the average number of cases statewide by 40%.

Lightly populated Harding County, with no cases during that two-week period, continued to be at a low ebb. Neighboring Guadalupe and Union counties also saw elevated caseloads, but less than the red-alert levels experienced in Curry, De Baca, Roosevelt and San Miguel counties.

A total of 530 people in the county were deemed by the DOH to have recovered from the virus.

These COVID-19 rapid responses were reported by the state last week:

• Quay County Sheriff’s Office in Tucumcari, one case reported Aug. 6;

• Russell’s Travel Center in Endee, one case reported Aug. 6;

• Farmers Electric Co-op in Logan, one case reported Aug. 9;

• Quay County office in Tucumcari, one case reported Aug. 9;

• Boulevard Cleaners in Tucumcari, one case reported Aug. 9;

• Union Pacific Railroad in Tucumcari, one case reported Aug. 9;

• Sonic Drive-In in Tucumcari, one case reported Aug. 12;

• Logan Middle School in Logan, one case reported Aug. 12.

A typical rapid response consists of isolating positive cases, quarantining close contacts, 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, 798 new COVID-19 cases were reported Friday, bringing the overall total to more than 218,000 since the pandemic began.

The seven-day daily case average in the state has risen from a low of 60 in late June to nearly 500 last week — an indication of the Delta upsurge.

Five COVID-19 deaths were reported in the state Friday, raising the total at 4,446.

A total of 296 people were hospitalized in New Mexico with the disease Friday, an increase of 80 from the previous week. It was the sixth straight week the state had seen an increase in its COVID-19 hospitalization numbers.

More than 900 people were hospitalized with the disease during the pandemic’s peak last winter.

The Amarillo metro region on Friday totaled 2,684 active cases of the disease, an increase of more than 800 from the previous week. The active-case count was about 300 just a few weeks ago.

The disease has killed 786 people in the Amarillo metro since the pandemic began. The hospitalization rate in the Amarillo area has risen from 3% to more than 12% in just a few weeks.

In the U.S., more than 36.6 million people have been confirmed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, with more than 621,000 deaths, through Friday.

According to state data Friday, 43.1% of Quay County residents have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus. That was an increase of 0.2% from the previous week.

About 47.9% of Quay County residents have received one shot of COVID-19 vaccine through Friday, an increase of 0.6% from the previous week.

New Mexico’s full vaccination rate crept up to 65.7% as of Friday, and 74.6% had received at least one dose of vaccine.

The DOH last week announced a series of vaccination events across the state, including at Mesalands Community College from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday. The Mesalands event will offer the Pfizer vaccine, which can be administered to children age 12 and up.

Trigg Memorial Hospital and the Quay County Family Health Center also offer vaccines by appointment. One also can register for the vaccine at VaccineNM.org and be eligible for $100 in cash or a gift card through Aug. 31. One also can call 1-855-600-3453 for assistance.

The DOH also announced Friday it plans to soon administer third COVID-19 vaccines to some people with compromised immune systems.