Quay County seeing worst spread of COVID-19 in state

Quay County coronavirus cases spiked again Quay County, with 67 confirmed infections reported by the state’s Department of Health the week as the region became a hotspot for the disease.

According to the COVID Act Now website that tracks the pandemic, Quay County totaled almost 500 cases per 100,000 people last week – the worst rate in New Mexico. That outpaced the second-worst county, McKinley, by a sizable margin.

Last week’s infection numbers more than doubled, compared to 26 cases the previous week. Last week’s total also surpassed a spike of 43 cases in early June. It was the highest total since the surge of the Delta variant of the virus ravaged the country last year.

In response, COVID Act Now on Friday downgraded Quay County from “medium” to “high” risk of community spread of the disease. The county had been at medium risk for one week.

It was the sixth consecutive week more than 25 cases were reported in the county.

Neighboring Curry, Roosevelt and De Baca counties also were listed as high risk for community spread. San Miguel and Guadalupe counties were at medium risk; Union and Harding counties were at low risk.

With last week’s numbers, the total number of coronavirus cases in the county since the pandemic began in spring 2020 rose to 2,292.

The breakdown of total COVID-19 cases by ZIP code in Quay County through Friday was 1,759 in Tucumcari, 323 in Logan, 107 in San Jon, 40 in House, 25 in McAlister, 19 in Nara Visa and 18 in Bard.

The new cases last week were reported in the ZIP codes of Tucumcari, Logan, San Jon, McAlister and Nara Visa.

One confirmed COVID-19 death in Quay County was reported last week, raising the death toll from the virus to 65 since the pandemic began more than two years ago.

The state’s Environment Department reported these rapid responses for COVID-19 employer infections in Quay County:

• ENMR Plateau in Logan, one case reported Aug. 5;

• Terry’s Service Center in San Jon, one case reported Aug. 9.

New Mexico’s seven-day daily case rate declined again, to 689 by Friday. The rate was 794 the previous week.

A total of 810 new cases of coronavirus were reported Friday in New Mexico. That raised the total since the pandemic began to more than 601,000.

A total of 184 people were hospitalized in New Mexico with the disease Friday, an increase of 24 from the previous week.

A total of five COVID-19 deaths were reported in the state Friday, raising the pandemic’s overall total to 8,312.

In the Amarillo metro region, the total number of active cases on Friday showed its first substantial decline after weeks of steep increases. That total that day was 2,219, compared to 2,419 the previous Friday.

The disease has killed 1,298 people in the Amarillo metro since the pandemic began.

In the U.S., about 92.9 million COVID-19 cases have been confirmed since the pandemic began, with more than 1.03 million deaths, through Saturday.

The New Mexico Department of Health on Friday amended its public health order to reflect changes recommended days earlier by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC dropped its recommendation to quarantine after a COVID-19 exposure if the person doesn’t get sick, gets tested after five days and wears a high-quality mask around others for 10 days. The CDD also no longer suggests screening asymptomatic people for the virus in most settings.

The state agency imposed these changes:

• All facilities licensed or certified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, including all hospitals, long-term care facilities, hospices and rehabilitation facilities, are instructed to adhere to all COVID-related requirements prescribed by CMS, including masking and patient or staff vaccination. The state no longer requires weekly testing for healthcare workers whose vaccine status is not up to date.

n Employees and volunteers working in state correctional facilities are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 unless they qualify for an exemption.

• All facilities are advised to evaluate CDC community transmission levels in their locality and adopt more stringent precautions if needed.

• All New Mexico residents should remain aware of the importance of protecting vulnerable population groups, including those who are older, immune-compromised or have other pre-existing conditions that place them at high risk for serious COVID illness.

• All New Mexicans should be aware that there are tools that can be used to direct both isolation for those who have acquired COVID and quarantine for those who have been exposed to COVID. They are encouraged to use the CDC Quarantine and Isolation Calculator at cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/quarantine-isolation.html.

“It’s clear by the CDC’s recommendation yesterday which moves away from restrictive measures that we’re in a different place in this pandemic than we were two years ago,” said Department of Health Secretary David R. Scrase said Friday.

New Mexico residents can schedule vaccinations for themselves or their children through the state’s registration portal at VaccineNM.org. The New Mexico Department of Health’s vaccination helpline is available at 855-600-3453, option 3.

The state Department of Health recommends COVID-19 drugs for those who have contracted the disease in its early stages and are at high risk for serious illness. These drugs are highly effective at preventing hospitalization and death but must be taken within days of the first symptom. More information on finding these treatments can be found at FindATreatmentNM.com.