5 county residents die of COVID-19

Five more confirmed COVID-19 deaths were reported last week in Quay County, though the county and state continued to see a weeks-long decline in the number of new infections of the disease.

The latest deaths in the county reported by the New Mexico Department of Health were:

• A woman in her 40s who had underlying conditions;

• A woman in her 100s who was hospitalized;

• A woman in her 60s who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions;

• A man in his 70s who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions;

• A woman in her 80s who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions; she was a resident of Sunshine Assisted Living in Tucumcari.

The death toll in Quay County rose to 44 since the pandemic began in spring 2020. A total of 36 of the deaths have occurred since late May.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Quay County last week was 21, including two on Friday. That compares to 42 cases the previous week and 67 the week before that.

The total number of cases in the county rose to 1,943 since the pandemic began in spring 2020.

According to epidemiology reports, Quay County's COVID-19 case rate fell to 75.7 new cases per 100,000 people from Jan. 25 to Feb. 5, a significant decline from the 116.6 rate in the previous reporting period. Though still at high levels statewide, Quay County ranks in the bottom five counties in the state in transmission rate.

McKinley County again saw the state's worst rate, at 213.7 per 100,000, though that dropped by about one-third in one week.

The COVID Act Now website last week also lowered Quay County from "extremely high risk" to "very high risk" of spreading the disease.

The breakdown of COVID-19 cases by ZIP code in Quay County through Friday was 1,491 in Tucumcari, 276 in Logan, 90 in San Jon, 32 in House, 20 in McAlister, 18 in Bard and 14 in Nara Visa. New cases were spread throughout the county, but mostly in Tucumcari.

A total of 1,633 people in the county were deemed by the DOH to have recovered from the virus.

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

• Tucumcari Home Health Hospice, one case reported Feb. 4;

• UPS Customer Center, Tucumcari, one case reported Feb. 8;

• Tucumcari MVD Field Office, one case reported Feb. 9;

• New Mexico State Police, Tucumcari, one case reported Feb. 10.

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.

More data

In New Mexico, the seven-day daily case average fell to less than 1,600 by Friday, compared to more than 2,400 the previous week. The Omicron variant typically has shown rapid spikes and rapid drops in the number of cases.

A total of 1,127 new cases of coronavirus were reported in New Mexico on Friday. That raised the total since the pandemic began to more than 500,000.

A total of 498 people were hospitalized in New Mexico with the disease Friday, a decrease of more than 100 from the previous week.

Twenty-nine COVID-19 deaths were reported in the state Friday, raising the total to 6,658.

Despite the decline in cases, New Mexico's top health official would not commit to a possible date to lift the state's indoor mask mandate.

Health Secretary David Scrase he would rely on medical data before recommending an end to the mandate.

"The pressure in the hospitals is severe," he said.

Scrase said he couldn't commit to a day when the mask mandate would end, "but when I see it, I will let residents know."

About a dozen states have lifted or plan to end their mask mandates in the coming weeks.

Scrase also indicated he was reluctant to lift the mandate because masks work in lowering the transmission of COVID-19. He said even a poorly designed cloth mask will lower transmission by 56%. He said 88% of studies that have examined the effects of masks show they reduce the disease's spread.

The total number of active cases in the Amarillo metro region declined Friday to more than 10,100 after weeks of steep increases. That was a drop of more than 3,000 from the previous week. The active-case count in the metro was about 300 last summer.

The disease has killed 1,091 people in the Amarillo metro since the pandemic began.

In the U.S., more than 77.6 million people have been confirmed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, with more than 918,000 deaths, through Friday.

Vaccines, testing

A mobile vaccine unit manned by health professionals from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and New Mexico Department of Health offered Pfizer vaccines for six days at Mesalands Community College.

Robert Woods, a worker for FEMA, said about 37 people had been vaccinated the first day of the Mesalands event. A phone call to FEMA in Washington, requesting a final count of the vaccines administered at the college during the week, was not returned.

Local health providers also are offering shots by appointment.

According to state data through Friday, 52.5% of Quay County residents have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus. That did not change from the previous week.

About 60.3% of county residents have received one shot of COVID-19 vaccine through Friday, which did not change from the previous week.

In New Mexico, 77.6% of eligible residents had been fully vaccinated by Friday, with 91.5% receiving at least one dose of vaccine.

Residents can schedule 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 helpline is available at 855-600-3453, option 3.

The federal government also is offering free rapid COVID-19 tests that can be shipped to homes. They can be ordered at COVIDtests.gov or calling 800-232-0233 or 888-720-7489.

The Quay County Courthouse and Quay County Extension Office, both in Tucumcari, each are offering free rapid tests.

FindATestNM.org also provides links to those who wish to receive free tests by mail order.