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See all of our COVID-19 coverage here.
- The state of New Mexico announced five more people died in COVID-19-related cases, bringing the total in the state to 31. The total number of cases also increased to over 1,300. Read our story here.
- Republicans want Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to ease restrictions designed to slow the spread of COVID-19. Read our story here.
- The number of cases on the Navajo Nation grew to 813, including 28 deaths, the Navajo Times reported; the Navajo Nation did not report the numbers on Sunday. The Navajo Nation issued over 115 criminal nuisance citations this weekend for violating the weekend-long curfew.
- According to a county-by-county breakdown, 266 of the cases for the Navajo Nation are in New Mexico, an increase of 60 over Saturday’s total.
- An inmate at the Sante Fe County jail tested positive for COVID-19, New Mexico In Depth reported.
- In its suit against the state, Legacy Church claimed that it would need 30 people for an online-only church service.
- The state Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on how primary elections in June should go forward. The Secretary of State and most county clerks want the Supreme Court to order an all mail-in election. Republicans and a handful of clerks say the court doesn’t have the authority to make the changes. See the Santa Fe Reporter primer here.
- Lujan Grisham joined 11 other governors in requesting that the federal government do everything possible to expand health insurance access, including reopening the enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act. Read the letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verna here.
- The additional money for unemployment benefits as part of the federal coronavirus recovery bill will be coming the week of April 20 according to the state Department of Workforce Solutions.
- KUNM covered how journalism is being impacted by COVID-19 and the measures used to slow the spread of the disease.
- The Weekly Alibi announced it is on print hiatus, though will continue to publish online.
- U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich joined 44 Senators in asking the Coronavirus Task Force and FEMA to publicize a plan for increasing COVID-19 testing nationwide. From the letter:
“Widespread diagnostic testing is crucial to controlling the COVID-19 outbreak. In the short term, quickly obtaining test results for hospitalized patients allows hospitals to preserve supplies of PPE and prevents unnecessary quarantines of front-line health care workers and first responders. In the long run, experts have argued that widespread testing will be needed to track and contain COVID-19 cases, allowing communities to slowly lift general social distancing restrictions without putting the public at risk.”- The two New Mexico senators wrote an opinion piece in the Albuquerque Journal about how the COVID-19 relief act sent help to New Mexico, but said more is needed.
- They also sent a letter to the head of FEMA asking the agency support tribal requests for assistance.
- The River Crossing Ministries in Ruidoso distributed food to those in need this weekend, the Ruidoso News reported.
- University of New Mexico staff are worried about their safety and their pay, the Daily Lobo reported. The university is doing solely online learning until at least the end of the semester.
- The state announced it is accepting applications for a $100 million short-term loan program for businesses with 40 or more employees. The information is available on the state Economic Development Department’s website.
- The Albuquerque Journal wrote about a team from the University of New Mexico’s School of Engineering that are producing face masks for medical workers.
- The Doña Ana Community College’s health sciences department donated personal protective equipment to local healthcare facilities, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported.
- An Alamogordo church that continued holding in-person services stopped after the state’s public health emergency order was amended to include places of worship, the Alamogordo Daily News reported.
- The Las Cruces Sun-News explored how the stay at home orders are impacting life in Ruidoso.
