County, state COVID-19 numbers continue to climb

Quay County’s number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose from six to 10 last week, which was the second straight week the region saw a significant increase.

The county’s weekly coronavirus cases were as low as two in early October.

New Mexico’s number of confirmed infections continued to climb, as well.

The COVID Act Now website kept Quay County’s risk rating for community spread of the disease at “low.” However, Quay County’s rate of new cases rose to 121.2 cases per 100,000 people last week, compared to 72.7 the previous week. That was the second straight increase.

The neighboring counties of De Baca, Harding, Union and San Miguel all saw elevated case rates of the virus last week. Each was rated at “medium” risk of community spread. De Baca County was seeing the worst rate in the New Mexico, at 724.6 cases per 100,000 people.

The total number of coronavirus cases in Quay County since the pandemic began in spring 2020 rose to 2,396 at the end of last week.

The breakdown of total COVID-19 cases by ZIP code in Quay County through Friday was 1,834 in Tucumcari, 338 in Logan, 111 in San Jon, 44 in House, 27 in McAlister, 21 in Nara Visa and 20 in Bard since the pandemic began more than two years ago.

The new cases last week were reported in the Tucumcari, Logan and House ZIP codes.

No confirmed COVID-19 deaths in Quay County were reported last week, keeping the death toll at 69 since the pandemic began more than two years ago.

A total of 489 new cases of coronavirus were reported Friday in New Mexico. That raised the total since the pandemic began to more than 627,000.

New Mexico’s seven-day daily case rate rose to 398 by Friday, the fourth straight week the rate had increased. The rate was 321 during the previous week.

A total of 110 people were hospitalized in New Mexico with the disease Friday, a decline of five from the previous week after several weeks of increases.

A total of nine COVID-19 deaths were reported in the state Friday, raising the pandemic’s overall toll to 8,642.

The state Department of Health last week encouraged residents to download the NM Notify app and report positive COVID-19 home tests there.

The agency stated about 760,000 New Mexico residents are using the app so they can be notified if they’ve been exposed to the virus, allowing them to reduce the risk of spreading it by staying home and can seek medical attention, if needed.

The NM Notify app is safe and anonymous, the agency stated, and it protects users’ privacy. No personal data is collected through the app. According to Google and Apple data, every two downloads of the app can prevent one infection.

“This application automatically creates contact tracing. The state plans to continue the use of the NM Notify app going forward as we believe it has great potential for managing the spread of COVID-19 as well as any future outbreaks,” acting Health Secretary David Scrase said.

In the Amarillo metro region, the total number of active cases on Friday continued its weeks-long decline. The total that day was 402, compared to 417 a week ago.

The disease has killed 1,310 people in the Amarillo metro since the pandemic began more than two years ago.

In the U.S., about 97.2 million COVID-19 cases have been confirmed since the pandemic began, with more than 1.07 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.

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 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.