Only six COVID-19 cases reported last week

Confirmed COVID-19 case numbers continued to percolate at a low level in Quay County last week.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Quay County last week was six. That compares to eight the previous week.

That kept the county in the orange risk of community spread of the virus. Only 11 of 33 counties in New Mexico — including neighboring Harding, Guadalupe and San Miguel — remained in the red zone.

The total number of cases in the county rose to 1,987 since the pandemic began in spring 2020.

According to state reports, Quay County’s COVID-19 case rate rose slightly to 11.1 new cases per 100,000 people from March 1 to March 14, compared to 9.4 during the previous reporting period.

Neighboring Harding County again saw the state’s worst rate, at 43.5 per 100,000, but that still was substantially lower than the 64.5 reported in the previous period.

Chaves County had the lowest rate, at 5.2.

The breakdown of COVID-19 cases by ZIP code in Quay County through Friday was 1,526 in Tucumcari, 279 in Logan, 94 in San Jon, 34 in House, 21 in McAlister, 18 in Bard and 14 in Nara Visa. Most of the new cases were in Tucumcari.

No confirmed COVID-19 deaths were reported last week in the county. The death toll in Quay County remained at 49. A total of 41 deaths occurred since late May 2021.

A total of 1,901 people in Quay County were deemed by the state to have recovered from the virus.

The only COVID-19 rapid response reported in the county last week was at Love’s Travel Stop in Tucumcari for three cases reported March 14.

More data

In New Mexico, the seven-day daily case average fell to 101 by Friday, compared to 265 during the previous week.

A total of 145 new cases of coronavirus were reported in New Mexico on Friday. That raised the total since the pandemic began to more than 516,000.

A total of 113 people were hospitalized in New Mexico with the disease Friday, a decrease of about 35 from the previous week.

Seventeen COVID-19 deaths were reported in the state Friday, raising the total to 7,145. Death totals typically remain elevated for several weeks after a surge in cases.

The total number of active cases in the Amarillo metro region plummeted Friday to 301, roughly matching its previous low last summer. That was a drop by more than half from the previous week and a steep decline from 13,000 cases earlier this winter.

The disease has killed 1,185 people in the Amarillo metro since the pandemic began.

In the U.S., more than 79.7 million people have been confirmed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, with more than 970,000 deaths, through Saturday.

According to state data through Friday, 53.3% of Quay County residents have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus. That was an increase of 0.1%.

About 60.7% of county residents have received one shot of COVID-19 vaccine through Friday. That also was an increase of 0.1%.

In New Mexico, 78.3% of eligible residents had been fully vaccinated by Friday, with 91.9% receiving at least one dose of vaccine. Those numbers showed little change.

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

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