This morning recap of COVID-19 news from New Mexico is available in a free email every weekday. Sign up here.

See all of our COVID-19 coverage here.

• The state of New Mexico reported 290 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday and eight additional deaths related to the disease. While the largest number came out of Bernalillo County, counties in southern and eastern New Mexico also showed continued growth. See more details here.
• The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico again said the governor needs to do more to expand release of inmates from state prisons to lessen the impact of COVID-19. Read more here.
• The governor will hold her weekly press conference on COVID-19 and the public health order today at 4 p.m. It will be livestreamed on Facebook and, in Spanish, on YouTube.
• Navajo Nation health officials announced Wednesday 40 new cases of COVID-19 and three additional deaths related to the disease. This brings the total number of confirmed cases to 7,981, with 5,693 individuals who have recovered and 382 who have died.
• The Plains Regional Medical Center in Clovis confirmed on Wednesday that someone had died with COVID-19, the first such death at the hospital, The Eastern New Mexico News reported.
• Many school districts are undecided on plans on how to reopen this fall, KOB-TV reported.
  • The Carlsbad Municipal Schools superintendent said the district planned on getting back to five-day, in-person school as soon as possible, but also acknowledged a hybrid online/in-person model could also be used, the Carlsbad Current-Argus reported.
• Kirtland Air Force Base could roll back its reopening if cases continue to grow, Col. David Miller said, according to the Albuquerque Journal.
• The state supreme court will hear arguments on if the state can levy fines of over $100 to businesses that don’t comply with the state public health order on August 4, the Associated Press reported.
• Meanwhile, the state says it could fine Alien Motor Speedway in Roswell $5,000 if they choose to hold more races, KRQE-TV reported.
• Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham directed city and county law enforcement throughout the state to enforce the mask mandate, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
  • Lincoln County’s sheriff said his department would not enforce the state’s mask mandate, the Ruidoso News reported.
• The Albuquerque Journal wrote about the hours-long waits for people seeking COVID-19 tests.
• The recent increase in COVID-19 cases in Grant County, in southwestern New Mexico, is mostly due to community spread, the state Department of Health told the Silver City Daily Press.
• The Otero County Commission postponed its Thursday meeting because County Commissioner Couy Griffin refused to wear a face covering or self-isolate despite a recent out-of-state trip, the Alamogordo Daily News reported.
• Eunice will close its City Hall and MVD office until Monday over possible COVID-19 exposure, KRQE-TV reported.
• The Navajo Times resumed its print edition on Thursday after its offices were closed for two weeks because of COVID-19, a reporter from the paper tweeted.
• The Farmington Daily Times wrote about how national parks in northwestern New Mexico have changed during the pandemic.
• Golf is experiencing a boom during the pandemic, KOB-TV reported.
• The Santa Fe New Mexican wrote about a Santa Fe resident who is home after being on lockdown in Ibiza for five months because of COVID-19.
• Arizona Family, a website from an Arizona TV station, reported that the lack of infrastructure is one major reason why the number of cases on the Navajo Nation grew so much.
• Taos High School sports canceled all its practices for a “protocol infraction,” the Taos News reported.
• In yesterday’s recap, we incorrectly wrote that a staff member at the Bonnie Dallas Senior Center in Farmington had tested positive for COVID-19; the employee was potentially exposed to someone with COVID-19.