Confirmed COVID-19 cases remain stable

Confirmed COVID-19 cases in Quay County remained stable last week, though a website that tracks community spread of the virus downgraded the region to high risk of community spread of the disease.

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

According to the COVID Act Now website, the county’s rate of new cases rose slightly to 90.9 cases per 100,000 people last week, compared to 84.8 the previous week.

The website on Friday, however, downgraded the county from “low” to “high” risk of community spread of coronavirus.

COVID Act Now noted a sharp increase of COVID-19 admissions in the Curry-Roosevelt Health Service Area, rising from 9.0 to 21.9 admissions for every 100,000 residents in one week. That put it in the “high” range for the first time in almost a year.

As a result, the website stated the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends masking indoors in the region because of high risk levels.

Several neighboring counties, including Curry, De Baca and Roosevelt, also were downgraded to “high” risk of community spread by the website.

The rest of New Mexico was considered low risk for community spread.

The total number of coronavirus cases in Quay County since the pandemic began in spring 2020 rose to 2,543 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 1,934 in Tucumcari, 371 in Logan, 118 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 San Jon 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 156 new cases of coronavirus were reported Friday in New Mexico. That raised the total since the pandemic began to more than 664,000.

New Mexico’s seven-day daily case rate rose slightly to 151 by Friday. The rate was 143 the previous week.

A total of 72 people were hospitalized in New Mexico with the disease Friday, a decrease of 10 from the previous week.

Four COVID-19 deaths were reported in the state Friday. The pandemic’s overall toll rose to 8,943.

In the Amarillo metro region, the total number of active cases declined slightly. The total Friday decreased to 1,368, compared to 1,381 a week ago.

The disease has killed 1,320 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.

On Friday, the governor’s office announced the retirement of Human Services Secretary Dr. David Scrase, who also was Health Secretary in 2021 and 2022. Scrase largely served as the face of New Mexico’s pandemic response.

Scrase is on leave due to a family emergency. His final day will be Feb. 24. HSD Deputy Secretary Kari Armijo will serve as interim leader of the department.

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.