July 18, 2020

280 new cases of COVID-19, 8 counties report double-digit increases

State health officials announced Saturday 280 new cases of COVID-19 and four additional deaths related to the disease. The new cases bring the state’s total tally of COVID-19 cases to 16,736 reported since the start of the pandemic in early March.

Saturday marks the 17th day in a row that the state has reported more than 200 new cases, and a whopping eight counties reported double-digit case increases. Those counties include Bernalillo (99), Doña Ana (46), San Juan (20), McKinley (19), Curry (11), Santa Fe (11), Sandoval (10) and Lea (10). The state also reported 13 new cases of COVID-19 at the New Mexico Corrections Department’s Central New Mexico Correctional Facility in Valencia County. 

The state processed 8,366 tests since Friday, representing a 3.3 percent positivity rate. 

There are currently 160 individuals hospitalized with the disease, a decrease of six since Friday. The state has designated 6,736 COVID-19 cases as recovered, an increase of 82 since Friday. 

Four individuals with COVID-19 have died since Friday, bringing the disease’s death toll to 569. 

The four deaths include: 

  • A male in his 70s from Bernalillo County who had underlying conditions and was a patient at the Canyon Transitional Rehabilitation Center in Albuquerque.
  • A male in his 70s from Chaves County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions.
  • A female in her 90s from Doña Ana County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions. The individual was a resident of the Good Samaritan Society facility in Las Cruces.
  • A female in her 80s in Otero County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions.

The state did not disclose which underlying condition any of the deceased had, only if one was present.

Testing details

The state coronavirus information page said the state has processed 460,664 tests as of Saturday, an increase of 8,366 tests since Friday. 

The state provided the number of new cases by county:

  • 99 new cases in Bernalillo County
  • 8 new cases in Chaves County
  • 11 new cases in Curry County
  • 46 new cases in Doña Ana County
  • 5 new cases in Eddy County
  • 1 new case in Hidalgo County
  • 10 new cases in Lea County
  • 2 new cases in Lincoln County
  • 4 new cases in Luna County
  • 19 new cases in McKinley County
  • 3 new cases in Otero County
  • 2 new cases in Rio Arriba County
  • 2 new cases in Roosevelt County
  • 10 new cases in Sandoval County
  • 20 new cases in San Juan County
  • 1 new case in San Miguel County
  • 11 new cases in Santa Fe County
  • 2 new cases in Sierra County
  • 1 new case in Socorro County
  • 1 new case in Torrance County
  • 6 new cases in Valencia County
  • 1 new case among individuals being held by federal agencies at Otero County Prison Facility
  • 2 new cases among New Mexico Corrections Department inmates at the Otero County Prison Facility
  • 13 new cases among New Mexico Corrections Department inmates at the Central New Mexico Correctional Facility in Valencia County

The state also provided the total number of cases, including those from Saturday. One previously reported case in Curry County was not lab confirmed and has now been corrected. One case that was thought to be an out-of-state resident has since been determined to be a New Mexico resident and has been added to San Juan County’s total.

  • Bernalillo County: 3,679
  • Catron County: 4
  • Chaves County: 197
  • Cibola County: 259
  • Colfax County: 11
  • Curry County: 301
  • Doña Ana County: 1,688
  • Eddy County: 173
  • Grant County: 47
  • Guadalupe County: 24
  • Harding County: 1
  • Hidalgo County: 78
  • Lea County: 343
  • Lincoln County: 34
  • Los Alamos County: 14
  • Luna County: 144
  • McKinley County: 3,743
  • Mora County: 3
  • Otero County: 100
  • Quay County: 22
  • Rio Arriba County: 195
  • Roosevelt County: 86
  • Sandoval County: 905
  • San Juan County: 2,829
  • San Miguel County: 31
  • Santa Fe County: 407
  • Sierra County: 19
  • Socorro County: 64
  • Taos County: 69
  • Torrance County: 50
  • Union County: 14
  • Valencia County: 247

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

  • Cibola County Correctional Center: 2
  • Otero County Prison Facility: 276
  • Otero County Processing Center: 149
  • Torrance County Detention Facility: 43

DOH reported the following numbers of COVID-19 cases among individuals held by the New Mexico Corrections Department at the following facilities:

  • Central New Mexico Correctional Facility in Valencia County: 22
  • Northwest New Mexico Correctional Center in Cibola County: 1
  • Otero County Prison Facility: 461
  • Penitentiary of New Mexico in Santa Fe County: 1

DOH also reported that they had identified 33 acute care or long-term care facilities where at least one patient or staff member has tested positive for COVID-19 within the last 28 days.  

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