June 26, 2020

225 COVID-19 cases, mostly in McKinley, Bernalillo and Doña Ana counties

Andy Lyman

The New Mexico Department of Health announced on Friday 225 new cases of COVID-19, the second consecutive day with over 200 cases of COVID-19 in the state. The state also announced four additional COVID-19 deaths.

It was the first time since earlier this month that the state had consecutive days with 200 or more cases, and in that case, it involved a spike in cases among inmates and detainees.

This time, the increase in cases came with 74 new cases in McKinley County, 50 in Bernalillo County and 36 in Doña Ana County. 

Across the state border in southern New Mexico, El Paso announced that it hit one-day high, at 233 new COVID-19 cases. Areas of Doña Ana County are suburbs of the city.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Thursday that the state would put further reopenings in the state on hold because of the uptick in cases and the need for more data to determine when it would be safe. Other states, including neighboring Arizona and Texas, have also paused their reopenings, and even reinstated some restrictions because of recent increases in cases.

With the new cases, New Mexico now has 11,408 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 489 deaths related to the disease. 

All four of the new deaths came from McKinley County and each had underlying conditions. The state did not disclose which underlying condition was present, only that one existed.

  • A female in her 20s from McKinley County who had underlying conditions.
  • A female in her 50s from McKinley County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions.
  • A male in his 60s from McKinley County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions.
  • A female in her 70s from McKinley County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions.

DOH also announced that there are now 5,149 cases designated as recovered by the department, an increase of 102 cases over Thursday.

And the state said that there are now 128 individuals hospitalized for COVID-19, a decrease of seven cases. This is the first day under 130 hospitalizations for COVID-19 since April 22. The numbers could include those from other locations who tested positive and are now hospitalized in New Mexico, but would not include New Mexico residents who tested positive for COVID-19 but are now hospitalized in other states.

Testing details

The state’s coronavirus information page said on Friday the state had processed 320,638 tests, an increase of 5,968 over Thursday. The percentage of confirmed cases per test on Friday was 3.77 percent. The World Health Organization said that testing in areas with extensive testing for COVID-19 should remain at 5 percent or lower for at least two weeks, per Johns Hopkins University and Medicine.

The increase in cases continued in Bernalillo and Doña Ana counties, along with hard-hit McKinley County. The state also announced 7 new cases among state inmates at the Otero County Prison Facility.

  • 50 new cases in Bernalillo County
  • 5 new cases in Chaves County
  • 4 new cases in Cibola County
  • 7 new cases in Curry County
  • 36 new cases in Doña Ana County
  • 2 new cases in Eddy County
  • 5 new cases in Lea County
  • 2 new cases in Lincoln County
  • 1 new case in Luna County
  • 74 new cases in McKinley County
  • 1 new case in Otero County
  • 1 new case in Quay County
  • 3 new cases in Rio Arriba County
  • 6 new cases in Sandoval County
  • 9 new cases in San Juan County
  • 2 new cases in San Miguel County
  • 4 new cases in Santa Fe County
  • 2 new cases in Sierra County
  • 1 new case in Taos County
  • 1 new case in Union County
  • 2 new cases in Valencia County
  • 7 new cases among New Mexico Corrections Department inmates at the Otero County Prison Facility

DOH also provided a breakdown of the total number of cases by county. 

Two previously reported cases (one in Rio Arriba County and one in Sandoval County) were determined to be duplicates and removed from the results, as were a case in San Juan County and a case in Torrance County that were not lab confirmed and one case in Hidalgo County and four in McKinley County which were determined to be out-of-state residents.

  • Bernalillo County: 1,987
  • Catron County: 2
  • Chaves County: 79
  • Cibola County: 206
  • Colfax County: 9
  • Curry County: 132
  • Doña Ana County: 842
  • Eddy County: 62
  • Grant County: 17
  • Guadalupe County: 20
  • Harding County: 1
  • Hidalgo County: 39
  • Lea County: 94
  • Lincoln County: 11
  • Los Alamos County: 7
  • Luna County: 64
  • McKinley County: 3,287
  • Otero County: 35
  • Quay County: 6
  • Rio Arriba County: 91
  • Roosevelt County: 55
  • Sandoval County: 706
  • San Juan County: 2,276
  • San Miguel County: 20
  • Santa Fe County: 210
  • Sierra County: 11
  • Socorro County: 59
  • Taos County: 38
  • Torrance County: 41
  • Union County: 7
  • Valencia County: 101

The DOH reported the following numbers of COVID-19 cases among individuals held by federal agencies at the following facilities:

  • Cibola County Correctional Center: 2
  • Luna County Detention Center: 1
  • Otero County Prison Facility: 275
  • Otero County Processing Center: 146
  • Torrance County Detention Facility: 32

The total number of COVID-19 cases among individuals held by the New Mexico Corrections Department at the following facilities are:

  • Central New Mexico Correctional Facility in Valencia County: 1
  • Northwest New Mexico Correctional Center in Cibola County: 1
  • Otero County Prison Facility: 434
  • Penitentiary of New Mexico in Santa Fe County: 1

The state announced at least one resident and/or staff member at 33 long-term care or acute care facilities had tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 28 days, the same number as on Thursday.

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