County's COVID-19 risk drops back to 'low'

Quay County’s risk of community spread of COVID-19 dropped back to the “low” level after a two-week spike.

The COVID Act Now website that tracks the disease on Friday dropped Quay County’s risk of community spread from the “medium” level. It was in the “high” level two weeks ago.

According to COVID Act Now, the county’s rate of new cases rose rose to 72.7 cases per 100,000 people last week, compared to 48.5 the previous week.

COVID-19 admissions in the Curry-Roosevelt Health Service Area, which fueled COVID Act Now’s downgraded ratings in the region a few weeks ago, plummeted from 14.2 to 1.3 for every 100,000 residents in one week. That placed it in the “low” range, as well.

All New Mexico counties were in the “low” risk of community spread except for neighboring Guadalupe, which was medium risk.

Quay County’s total number of cases last week was three, compared to six in the previous week.

The total number of coronavirus cases in Quay County since the pandemic began in spring 2020 rose to 2,552 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 1,937 in Tucumcari, 376 in Logan, 119 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. The last death was reported in late December.

A total of 235 new cases of coronavirus were reported Friday in New Mexico. That raised the total since the pandemic began to more than 666,000.

New Mexico’s seven-day daily case rate rose from 107 to 121 on Friday.

A total of 68 people were hospitalized in New Mexico with the disease Friday, a decline of five from the previous week.

Five COVID-19 deaths were reported in the state Friday. The pandemic’s overall toll rose to 9,001.

In the Amarillo metro region, the total number of active cases increased by a moderate amount. The total Friday rose to 1,291, compared to 1,189 a week ago.

The disease has killed 1,324 people in the Amarillo metro since the pandemic began.

In the U.S., about 103 million COVID-19 cases have been confirmed since the pandemic began, with more than 1.12 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.