COVID-19 cases drop by half in county

Three COVID-19 cases were reported by state officials in Quay county last week, dropping the number by half from the previous week.

Quay County has reported weekly single-digit numbers of COVID-19 for much of the winter. Six cases were reported the previous week by the New Mexico Department of Health.

Last week’s number brought the total number of coronavirus cases in Quay County since the pandemic began to 2,564.

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 84.8 cases per 100,000 people. That compared to 56.5 the previous week.

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

The breakdown of total COVID-19 cases by ZIP code in Quay County through Friday was 1,947 in Tucumcari, 377 in Logan, 119 in San Jon, 47 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 House 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 203 new cases of coronavirus were reported Friday in New Mexico. That raised the total since the pandemic began to more than 671,000.

New Mexico’s seven-day daily case rate rose slightly last week, from 173 to 177.

A total of 73 people were hospitalized in New Mexico with the disease Friday, a decline of 12 from the previous week.

One COVID-19 death was reported in the state Friday. The pandemic’s overall toll rose to 9,062 during the week.

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

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.

In the Amarillo metro region, the total number of active cases declined last week. The total Friday fell to 1,248, compared to 1,371 a week ago.

The disease has killed 1,336 people in the Amarillo metro since the pandemic began.

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