Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Quay County’s number of coronavirus cases fell to the single-digit level last week, though an apparent outbreak at Mesalands Community College showed the virus still can cause disruptions.
COVID-19 cases totaled seven last week, compared to 10 and 19 during the previous two successive weeks reported by the New Mexico Department of Health.
Mesalands was scheduled to hold its regular board of trustees meeting on Sept. 27. However, Margaret Ragland, executive assistant to President Gregg Busch, sent an email Friday evening stating the meeting had been “postponed until further notice due to Covid.”
Josh McVey, vice president of public relations at the college, stated in a text Saturday he was reluctant to give details due to privacy and health laws, but added that “less than 5 senior level positions have been vacant during this isolation period, and those senior level positions are critical to the organization and preparation for our monthly meetings.”
McVey added: “We are experiencing a spike among employees even though we recently held a vaccination clinic and are scheduling another.”
The COVID Act Now website kept Quay County’s risk rating for community spread at “low.” Quay County’s rate of new cases stood at 121.2 cases per 100,000 people last week, the same as the previous week.
All of New Mexico’s counties also were at low risk for the disease’s spread except for Rio Arriba County, which was medium.
The total number of coronavirus cases in Quay County since the pandemic began in spring 2020 rose to 2,372.
The breakdown of total COVID-19 cases by ZIP code in Quay County through Friday was 1,821 in Tucumcari, 333 in Logan, 110 in San Jon, 41 in House, 27 in McAlister, 20 in Nara Visa and 19 in Bard.
All the new cases last week were reported in the Tucumcari ZIP code.
No confirmed COVID-19 deaths in Quay County was reported last week, keeping the death toll at 68 since the pandemic began more than two years ago.
A total of 247 new cases of coronavirus were reported Friday in New Mexico. That raised the total since the pandemic began to more than 617,000.
New Mexico’s seven-day daily case rate had declined to 226 by Friday. The rate was 243 during the previous week.
A total of 98 people were hospitalized in New Mexico with the disease Friday, an increase of 16 from the previous week after many weeks of declines. Even with the rise, the state has seen far fewer hospitalizations during the latest variant of the virus.
A total of five COVID-19 deaths were reported in the state Friday, raising the pandemic’s overall total to 8,554.
In the Amarillo metro region, the total number of active cases on Friday continued to fall. That total that day was 1,204, compared to 1,490 a week ago.
The disease has killed 1,305 people in the Amarillo metro since the pandemic began more than two years ago.
In the U.S., about 95.8 million COVID-19 cases have been confirmed since the pandemic began, with more than 1.05 million deaths, on Saturday.
The New Mexico Department of Health’s vaccination helpline is available at 855-600-3453, option 3, or by going to vaccinenm.org. State officials have said the supply of the latest booster shot against Omicron variants is plentiful.
The 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.