Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Quay County’s number of confirmed coronavirus cases doubled last week, while infections and hospitalizations continued to increase in New Mexico.
The number of COVID-19 cases in the county last week totaled 14, compared to seven in each of the previous two weeks.
The county’s weekly cases had dropped to as low as two as recently as early October.
According to the COVID Act Now website, Quay County’s rate of new cases rose to 145.4 cases per 100,000 people last week, from 92.9 the previous week.
Despite the increase, the website listed the county as “low” risk of community spread of the disease.
Neighboring De Baca County still was seeing a “medium” risk of community spread. It had the highest rate of new infections in New Mexico, with 572.1 per 100,000 people. All the rest of Quay County’s neighbors were at “low” risk of spreading the disease.
The total number of coronavirus cases in Quay County since the pandemic began in spring 2020 rose to 2,424 by the end of last week.
The breakdown of total COVID-19 cases by ZIP code in Quay County through Friday was 1,849 in Tucumcari, 350 in Logan, 112 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.
New cases last week were reported in the Tucumcari, Logan and San Jon 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 854 new cases of coronavirus were reported Friday in New Mexico. That raised the total since the pandemic began to more than 640,000.
New Mexico’s seven-day daily case rate rose to 744 by Friday, the seventh straight week the rate had increased. The rate was 634 the previous week.
A total of 196 people were hospitalized in New Mexico with the disease Friday, a jump of 40 from the previous week.
During a briefing Thursday, New Mexico Health Secretary David Scrase said COVID-19 cases in the state “clearly are on an upward trend.”
He said case counts are relatively low because of home testing for the virus, the results which often aren’t reported to health authorities. He estimated the actual number was two to three times higher.
Three COVID-19 deaths were reported in the state Friday, raising the pandemic’s overall toll to 8,695.
Deputy Health Secretary Laura Parajon said cases of influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cases also were rising in the state. She recommended both COVID-19 vaccine boosters and flu shots for the best protection.
In the Amarillo metro region, the total number of active cases rose for the third straight week Friday. The total that day was 521, compared to 462 a week ago.
The disease has killed 1,310 people in the Amarillo metro since the pandemic began more than two years ago, though no new deaths have been reported for several weeks.
In the U.S., about 98 million COVID-19 cases have been confirmed since the pandemic began, with more than 1.09 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.