July 19, 2020

240 new cases of COVID-19, 2 deaths; Lea County reports record high

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State health officials announced Sunday 240 new cases of COVID-19 and two additional deaths related to the disease. Sunday marks the 18th day in a row that the state has reported more than 200 new cases. 

Lea County reported a record-high 35 new cases. Bernalillo reported 99 new cases for the second day in a row; Doña Ana County reported 30 new cases, while three other counties reported low double-digit increases. 

New Mexico has now had a total of 16,971 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic started. The state processed 8,551 tests since Saturday, representing a 2.8 percent positivity rate.

The two deaths bring the state’s death toll to 571. The deaths were a male in his 50s from Eddy County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions; and a male in his 50s from McKinley 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.

There are currently 161 individuals hospitalized for COVID-19 in New Mexico, an increase of one since Saturday. There are 6,764 individuals who had COVID-19 who are now designated as recovered by the state Department of Health, an increase of 28 since Saturday.

Testing details

The state coronavirus information page said the state has processed 469,214 tests as of Saturday, an increase of 8,551 tests since Friday. 

Lea County reported a record 35 new cases, marking only the second time since the pandemic began that the county has reported more than 25 new cases, according to KRQE-TV. Other counties with double-digit increases in new cases were Bernalillo (99), Dona Ana (30), Sandoval (14), McKinley (11) and Santa Fe (10).

With nearly 100 new cases, Bernalillo County has now surpassed McKinley as the county with the highest number of cases in the state. 

The new cases by county are:

  • 99 new cases in Bernalillo County
  • 1 new case in Chaves County
  • 3 new cases in Cibola County
  • 1 new case in Curry County
  • 30 new cases in Doña Ana County
  • 8 new cases in Eddy County
  • 2 new cases in Grant County
  • 35 new cases in Lea County
  • 2 new cases in Lincoln County
  • 1 new case in Luna County
  • 11 new cases in McKinley County
  • 2 new cases in Otero County
  • 4 new cases in Rio Arriba County
  • 3 new cases in Roosevelt County
  • 14 new cases in Sandoval County
  • 6 new cases in San Juan County
  • 1 new case in San Miguel County
  • 10 new cases in Santa Fe County
  • 1 new case in Sierra County
  • 1 new case in Socorro County
  • 1 new case in Torrance County
  • 5 new cases in Valencia County

The state also provided the total number of cases in each county, including those from Sunday. One previously reported case in Bernalillo County was identified as a duplicate and five other cases (two in Bernalillo County, one in Chaves County, one in Doña Ana County, one in San Juan County) have now been identified as out-of-state residents  – these have now been corrected. The county totals for COVID-19 cases are: 

  • Bernalillo County: 3,775
  • Catron County: 4
  • Chaves County: 197
  • Cibola County: 262
  • Colfax County: 11
  • Curry County: 302
  • Doña Ana County: 1,717
  • Eddy County: 181
  • Grant County: 49
  • Guadalupe County: 24
  • Harding County: 1
  • Hidalgo County: 78
  • Lea County: 378
  • Lincoln County: 36
  • Los Alamos County: 14
  • Luna County: 145
  • McKinley County: 3,754
  • Mora County: 3
  • Otero County: 102
  • Quay County: 22
  • Rio Arriba County: 199
  • Roosevelt County: 89
  • Sandoval County: 919
  • San Juan County: 2,834
  • San Miguel County: 32
  • Santa Fe County: 417
  • Sierra County: 20
  • Socorro County: 65
  • Taos County: 69
  • Torrance County: 51
  • Union County: 14
  • Valencia County: 252

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 34 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, an increase of one facility since Saturday. 

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