County reports 121 new COVID-19 cases

A total of 121 new confirmed cases of coronavirus were reported last week in Quay County, including 17 on Friday, as the state also reported spread of the virus in numbers not seen in more than a year.

The county’s numbers during the week were somewhat inflated because the Nov. 29 report included Thursday and Friday of the Thanksgiving holiday in addition to the usual Saturday and Sunday.

Even subtracting the daily averages of the previous Thursday and Friday from the Monday report, Quay County still would have surpassed the record 91 cases reported in a week in mid-November.

According to state epidemiology reports, Quay County continued to have the worst COVID-19 case rate in New Mexico with 125.9 new cases per 100,000 people from Nov. 16 to Nov. 29. The county also had the state’s worst test-positivity rate, at 21.93%.

Neighboring De Baca County had the second-worst rate, and Union County ranked seventh-worst.

The COVID Act Now website on Thursday also downgraded Quay County from “very high risk” to “severe risk” — the worst rating — in spread of the disease.

The total number of cases in the county since the pandemic began rose to 1,371.

Last week’s cases were throughout the county, but mostly in the Tucumcari, Logan and San Jon.

Tucumcari went past the 1,000 mark for total cases since the pandemic began last spring.

The breakdown of COVID-19 cases by ZIP code in Quay County through Friday was 1,027 in Tucumcari, 221 in Logan, 64 in San Jon, 15 in House, 15 in Bard, 13 in McAlister and 12 in Nara Visa.

A total of 1,037 people in the county were deemed by the DOH to have recovered from the virus.

The death toll in the county remained at 25 since the pandemic began in the spring of 2020. About two-thirds of the deaths have occurred in the last six months.

These COVID-19 rapid responses in the county were reported last week:

• Presbyterian Medical Services, Tucumcari, two cases reported Nov. 29;

• Mesalands Community College, Tucumcari, one case reported Nov. 29;

• UPS Customer Center, Tucumcari, one case reported Nov. 29;

• ENMR Plateau, Logan, one case reported Nov. 29;

• Tucumcari Public Schools, one case reported Nov. 29;

• Wells Fargo Bank, Tucumcari, one case reported Nov. 29;

• Tractor Supply Co., Tucumcari, two cases reported Nov. 30;

• Family Dollar, Tucumcari, two cases reported Nov. 30.

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.

Other upsurges

In New Mexico, a total of 2,388 new COVID-19 cases were reported Friday, bringing the total to more than 320,000 since the pandemic began.

It was the second straight day the state had recorded more than 2,000 cases — a rate not seen since the virus’ previous surge last winter.

Fourteen COVID-19 deaths were reported in the state Friday, raising the total to 5,407.

A total of 675 people were hospitalized in New Mexico with the disease Friday, an increase of 27 from the previous week.

Presbyterian Health Services’ modeling team forecasts hospitalizations in the state to begin trending down in the next two weeks.

State health officials were reluctant during a health briefing Wednesday to discuss the new Omicron variant that has been detected in several states and dozens of countries, saying there are too many unknowns to speculate on its potential risk.

Health Secretary David Scrase said full vaccination is the first priority — especially in the ongoing fight against the Delta variant that has ravaged the state and country in recent months.

The state’s epidemiologist, Christine Ross, added that vaccination is “the best means of protection” against any variant.

Ross also said the spread rate of the disease in New Mexico has fallen below 1.0, a key threshold.

“This gives us reason for cautious optimism,” she said.

Katrina Hotrum-Lopez, Secretary of Aging and Long-Term Services, said cases have been trending down in nursing homes, with lower death rates, in recent months. She said 92% of nursing home staff and 91% of residents are vaccinated.

The Amarillo metro region on Friday totaled 3,460 active cases of the disease, an increase of about 700 from the previous week.

The active-case count in the metro was about 300 earlier this summer.

The disease has killed 943 people in the Amarillo metro since the pandemic began.

In the U.S., nearly 49 million people have been confirmed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, with more than 787,000 deaths, through Friday.

Vaccinations

According to state data Friday, 49.9% of Quay County residents have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus. That was an increase of 0.2% from the previous week.

About 55.6% of Quay County residents have received one shot of COVID-19 vaccine through Friday, an increase of 0.5% from the previous week.

In New Mexico, 74.6% of eligible residents had been fully vaccinated by Friday, with 86.1% receiving at least one dose of vaccine.

The Quay County Family Health Center will hold a booster-only vaccination event from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 8 at the Quay County Fairgrounds’ fair barn in Tucumcari. Organizers are asking those who will be vaccinated to bring their vaccine cards, identification and insurance cards.

On Thursday, the state issued an amended emergency public health order that effectively will require many workers to receive a booster shot.

New Mexico’s state public health policies for months have required many workers in higher-risk environments — including those in all health care and congregate-care settings — to be vaccinated. Public school workers and state employees must submit to weekly COVID-19 testing if they are not vaccinated.

The amended state public health order will require those categories of workers to receive a booster shot. Those workers must receive a booster dose no later than Jan. 17, or within four weeks of becoming eligible.

Scrase said more than 370,000 booster shots already have been administered, which puts New Mexico ahead of the national average. He also said distribution of vaccines for children age 5 to 11 also has matched projections.

Residents still can schedule their vaccinations through the state’s registration portal at VaccineNM.org.

Parents can sign up children over age 5 for vaccinations at the state’s portal at vaccineNM.org/kids or their health provider.

The Department of Health’s vaccination line also is available at 855-600-3453, option 3.

New Mexico residents age 18 and over also may now schedule a booster shot if:

• They received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine more than two months ago, or;

• They completed the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine series more than six months ago.

According to state epidemiology reports, 89.3% of New Mexico deaths from COVID-19 since Feb. 1 through Nov. 29 have occurred among the unvaccinated.

That trend still largely held true in November, with 80% of the deaths occurring with the unvaccinated.

Scrase also noted the average age of a COVID-19 death in the state was 14 years younger among the unvaccinated. He said that shows vaccinations give coronavirus patients a much bigger chance of survival.