Serving the High Plains

County's COVID caseload at a low ebb

Two COVID-19 cases were reported in Quay County last week, indicating the disease remained at a low ebb in February.

That compared to one case the previous week, three cases two weeks ago and six cases three weeks ago.

That brought the total number of coronavirus cases in Quay County since the pandemic began in spring 2020 to 2,555 by Friday.

According to the COVID Act Now website that tracks the disease, the county’s rate of new cases rose somewhat but were at a still-low level of 28.3 cases per 100,000 people last week. That compared to 18.2 cases the previous week.

Quay County’s risk of community spread of COVID-19 stayed in a “low” level last week. All New Mexico counties also were low risk except De Baca, which was medium risk.

The breakdown of total COVID-19 cases by ZIP code in Quay County through Friday was 1,940 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.

Both cases in the county last week were reported in the Tucumcari ZIP code.

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 159 new cases of coronavirus were reported Friday in New Mexico. That raised the total since the pandemic began to more than 669,000.

New Mexico’s seven-day daily case rate for the disease rose moderately, from 152 to 167 on Friday.

A total of 62 people were hospitalized in New Mexico with the disease Friday, a decline of nine from the previous week.

No COVID-19 deaths were reported in the state Friday. The pandemic’s overall toll rose to 9,020 during the week.

In the Amarillo metro region, the total number of active cases again increased slightly. The total Friday rose to 1,367, compared to 1,365 a week ago.

The disease has killed 1,325 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 1.13 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.