County's COVID cases drop by half

Confirmed COVID-19 cases in Quay County were cut in half last week and began to mirror the general decline in New Mexico observed over the past few weeks.

The county’s number of cases last week was seven, compared to 14 the previous week.

According to the COVID Act Now website, the county’s rate of new cases plummeted to 84.8 cases per 100,000 people last week, compared to 181.8 the previous week.

The website kept the county at “low” risk of community spread of the disease.

For the first time in many months, the website graded all counties in New Mexico at low risk of the disease’s spread, as well.

The total number of coronavirus cases in Quay County since the pandemic began in spring 2020 rose to 2,535 by Friday, reported the New Mexico Department of Health.

The breakdown of total COVID-19 cases by ZIP code in Quay County through Friday was 1,927 in Tucumcari, 371 in Logan, 117 in San Jon, 46 in House, 30 in McAlister, 21 in Nara Visa and 20 in Bard since the pandemic began almost three years ago.

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

No confirmed COVID-19 deaths in Quay County were reported last week, keeping the death toll at 70 since the pandemic began nearly three years ago.

A total of 167 new cases of coronavirus were reported Friday in New Mexico. That raised the total since the pandemic began to more than 663,000.

New Mexico’s seven-day daily case rate decreased significantly to 143 by Friday. The rate was 225 the previous week.

A total of 82 people were hospitalized in New Mexico with the disease Friday, the same as the previous week.

Twelve COVID-19 deaths were reported in the state Friday. The pandemic’s overall toll rose to 8,919.

In the Amarillo metro region, the total number of active cases declined again. The total Friday decreased to 1,381, compared to 1,577 a week ago.

The disease has killed 1,319 people in the Amarillo metro since the pandemic began.

In the U.S., about 102 million COVID-19 cases have been confirmed since the pandemic began, with more than 1.11 million deaths, through 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 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.