Cases rise in county, decline in state

The total number of new COVID-19 cases in Quay County last week rose to 16 by Friday, compared to 10 in the previous week, while case rates in New Mexico continued to decline.

According to the COVID Act Now website, Quay County’s rate of new cases rose to 193.9 cases per 100,000 people last week, compared to 121.1 the previous week.

However, the website kept the county at “low” risk of community spread of the disease, as it did with neighboring counties. The only “medium” risk counties were in the northwest and south-central parts of the state.

The total number of coronavirus cases in Quay County since the pandemic began in spring 2020 rose to 2,494 by Friday.

The breakdown of total COVID-19 cases by ZIP code in Quay County through Wednesday was 1,900 in Tucumcari, 364 in Logan, 112 in San Jon, 46 in House, 28 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. No deaths have been reported in the county since late October.

A total of 304 new cases of coronavirus were reported Friday in New Mexico. That raised the total since the pandemic began to more than 657,000.

New Mexico’s seven-day daily case rate declined to 305 by Friday. The rate was 397 the previous week.

A total of 130 people were hospitalized in New Mexico with the disease Friday, a decline of 55 from the previous week.

Eight COVID-19 deaths were reported in the state Friday. The pandemic’s overall toll rose to 8,788.

In the Amarillo metro region, the total number of active cases rose for the eighth straight week. The total Friday increased to 1,736, compared to 1,564 a week ago.

The disease has killed 1,314 people in the Amarillo metro since the pandemic began more than two years ago.

In the U.S., about 100 million COVID-19 cases have been confirmed since the pandemic began, with more than 1.1 million deaths, on Saturday.

More free, at-home COVID-19 tests can be ordered through the federal government and shipped by mail through covid.gov/tests. Residents also can receive free, at-home tests by mail through the Rockefeller Foundation’s Project Act program at accesscovidtests.org.

The New Mexico Department of Health’s vaccination helpline is available at 855-600-3453, option 3, or by going to vaccinenm.org.

The DOH recommends COVID-19 drugs for those who have contracted the disease in its early stages and are at 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.