Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Quay County’s new cases of coronavirus continued to be at a low and stable level last week.
Also, the administrator of Tucumcari health clinic said she expected a shipment of new COVID-19 vaccination booster shots by next week. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved those updated boosters.
The county’s COVID-19 cases totaled 14 last week, compared to 15 during each of the previous two weeks as reported by the New Mexico Department of Health.
That’s a far cry from early August, when the county saw 67 cases in one week, the highest it had been since the Delta variant tore through the region last year.
Despite the stable numbers, the COVID Act Now website that tracks infection rates raised Quay County’s community risk of the disease from “low” to “medium” last week.
According to COVID Act Now, Quay County’s rate increased to 230 cases per 100,000 people in the previous week, compared to 181 the previous week.
De Baca, Guadalupe and Roosevelt counties also were listed as medium risk. Other neighboring counties of Union, Harding, Curry and San Miguel were listed as low risk.
At one point in early August, Quay County had the worst spread rate in the state.
Chaves County last week had the worst rate in New Mexico, with almost 600 per 100,000 people.
The total number of coronavirus cases in the county since the pandemic began in spring 2020 rose to 2,336.
The breakdown of total COVID-19 cases by ZIP code in Quay County through Friday was 1,790 in Tucumcari, 332 in Logan, 109 in San Jon, 41 in House, 25 in McAlister, 20 in Nara Visa and 18 in Bard.
New cases last week were reported in the ZIP codes of Tucumcari, Logan and San Jon.
No confirmed COVID-19 deaths in Quay County were reported last week, keeping the death toll at 67 since the pandemic began more than two years ago.
C. Renee Hayoz, administrator of the Quay County Family Health Center in Tucumcari, said Friday she anticipated a shipment of the Omicron-updated boosters by late next week. She said her clinic anticipates holding a vaccination event on Sept. 22.
Hayoz said her clinic and others have been directed to stop administering earlier versions of the boosters, though it still will give primary and secondary vaccinations to residents if they need them.
Amanda Schoenberg, a spokeswoman for Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari, said Friday the facility is not planning to offer boosters.
“We encourage community members to visit vaccinenm.org to find available locations,” she stated in an email.
The New Mexico Department of Health’s vaccination helpline also is available at 855-600-3453, option 3.
New Mexico’s seven-day daily case rate declined to 420 by Friday. The rate was 531 the previous week.
A total of 381 new cases of coronavirus were reported Friday in New Mexico. That raised the total since the pandemic began to more than 612,000.
A total of 124 people were hospitalized in New Mexico with the disease Friday, a decline of two from the previous week. The state has been seeing far fewer hospitalizations during the latest spread event of the disease.
A total of four COVID-19 deaths were reported in the state Friday, raising the pandemic’s overall total to 8,469.
In the Amarillo metro region, the total number of active cases on Friday continued to show a slow decrease. That total that day was 1,824, compared to 1,900 a week ago.
The disease has killed 1,304 people in the Amarillo metro since the pandemic began more than two years ago.
In the U.S., about 94.7 million COVID-19 cases have been confirmed since the pandemic began, with more than 1.04 million deaths, through Saturday.
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.