Governor to let COVID-19 order expire

New Mexico’s governor announced Friday she would let her COVID-19 executive order expire at the end of the month — ending three years of such orders since the pandemic began in early 2020.

“While we’re still seeing COVID cases, our preparedness and collaborative work have helped turn a once-in-a-century public health emergency into a manageable situation,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham stated in a news release.

“We are working diligently across state agencies to make sure New Mexicans continue to be supported as federal COVID programs wind down.”

Lujan Grisham issued her first COVID-19 public health emergency on March 11, 2020. Since then, the state has aligned its series of emergency orders with the federal government’s.

In late January, the Biden Administration announced it planned to end its COVID-19 public health emergency on May 11. It had been in place since early 2020.

The governor urged that residents, especially those who are older or who have compromised immune systems, to receive a COVID-19 vaccination or booster shot if they haven’t already.

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

Six COVID-19 cases were reported in Quay County last week, keeping the region at a weeks-long ebb of the disease. Two cases were reported the previous week.

Quay County has reported weekly single-digit numbers of COVID-19 for much of the winter.

Last week’s number brought the total number of coronavirus cases in Quay County since the pandemic began to 2,561 by Friday.

According to the COVID Act Now website that tracks the disease, the county’s rate of new cases rose but still were at a low level of 56.5 cases per 100,000 people last week. That compared to 28.3 the previous week.

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

The breakdown of total COVID-19 cases by ZIP code in Quay County through Friday was 1,945 in Tucumcari, 377 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 cases in the county 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 224 new cases of coronavirus were reported Friday in New Mexico. That raised the total since the pandemic began to more than 670,000.

New Mexico’s seven-day daily case rate for the disease rose slightly, from 167 to 173 on Friday.

A total of 85 people were hospitalized in New Mexico with the disease Friday, a jump of 23 from the previous week.

One COVID-19 death was reported in the state Friday. The pandemic’s overall toll rose to 9,048 during the week.

In the Amarillo metro region, the total number of active cases again increased slightly. The total Friday rose to 1,371, compared to 1,367 a week ago.

The disease has killed 1,332 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 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.