State health officials reported a record 343 new cases of COVID-19 Thursday and five deaths related to the disease. The state has recorded a total of 18,163 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic and a total of 596 individuals have died.
It’s the sixth day the state has reported over 300 cases, and the 22nd consecutive day the state has reported more than 200 new cases. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said during a press conference Thursday afternoon that the numbers are cause for concern.
“That is our all-time high since we’ve been battling this pandemic. That in and of itself is not good news,” Lujan Grisham said.
Bernalillo County, the state’s most populous county, reported 126 cases, while five other counties reported double-digit increases in new cases, including Lea County, which has experienced an uptick in cases since the beginning of July.
New Mexico Department of Health (DOH) officials have processed a total of 496,985 tests. Of the 7,651 tests processed since Wednesday, 4.4 percent were positive.
There are currently 167 individuals hospitalized for COVID-19, a decrease of 11 since Wednesday. Lujan Grisham said 34 individuals are now using ventilators.
The five deaths are:
- A female in her 80s from Bernalillo County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions.
- A female in her 90s from Bernalillo County who was a resident of Spanish Trails Rehabilitation Suites facility in Albuquerque and had underlying conditions.
- A male in his 60s from Doña Ana County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions.
- A female in her 40s from Lea County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions.
- A female in her 60s from McKinley County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions.
The state did not disclose which underlying condition any individual had, only that one was present.
DOH has designated 7,056 COVID-19 cases as recovered, an increase of 82 since Wednesday.
Testing details
The DOH coronavirus information page said the state has now reported 496,985 tests, an increase of 7,651 over Wednesday’s total.
Five counties reported double-digit increases. Those counties are Lea County (33), Doña Ana County (31), McKinley County (26), San Juan County (21) and Sandoval County (16).
The new cases by county are:
- 126 new cases in Bernalillo County
- 6 new cases in Chaves County
- 5 new cases in Cibola County
- 7 new cases in Curry County
- 31 new cases in Doña Ana County
- 6 new cases in Eddy County
- 4 new cases in Grant County
- 1 new case in Guadalupe County
- 3 new cases in Hidalgo
- 33 new cases in Lea County
- 3 new cases in Lincoln County
- 6 new cases in Luna County
- 26 new cases in McKinley County
- 7 new cases in Otero County
- 5 new cases in Rio Arriba County
- 6 new cases in Roosevelt County
- 16 new cases in Sandoval County
- 21 new cases in San Juan County
- 6 new cases in Santa Fe County
- 1 new case in Sierra County
- 1 new case in Socorro County
- 7 new cases in Taos County
- 1 new case in Torrance County
- 3 new cases in Union County
- 9 new cases in Valencia County
- 2 new cases among New Mexico Corrections Department inmates at the Lea County Correctional Facility
- 1 new cases among New Mexico Corrections Department inmates at the Otero County Prison Facility
The DOH also provided the total number of cases, including those from Thursday, by county. The number of cases by facilities that hold state or federal detainees are separated from the counties in which those facilities reside.
Seven previously-reported cases were identified as duplicates (one case in Bernalillo County, four cases in Doña Ana County, one case in Sandoval County and one case in Valencia County). Two cases were identified as out-of-state residents (one case in Doña Ana County and one case in Eddy County). The state also added one case to Luna County that was thought to be an out-of-state resident that has since been determined to be a New Mexico resident. Those numbers have been corrected.
- Bernalillo County: 4,131
- Catron County: 4
- Chaves County: 235
- Cibola County: 283
- Colfax County: 11
- Curry County: 335
- Doña Ana County: 1,864
- Eddy County: 207
- Grant County: 63
- Guadalupe County: 27
- Harding County: 1
- Hidalgo County: 84
- Lea County: 465
- Lincoln County: 47
- Los Alamos County: 16
- Luna County: 175
- McKinley County: 3,844
- Mora County: 6
- Otero County: 127
- Quay County: 28
- Rio Arriba County: 261
- Roosevelt County: 101
- Sandoval County: 972
- San Juan County: 2,890
- San Miguel County: 35
- Santa Fe County: 462
- Sierra County: 22
- Socorro County: 68
- Taos County: 81
- Torrance County: 52
- Union County: 17
- Valencia County: 285
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: 24
- Lea County Correctional Facility: 2
- Northwest New Mexico Correctional Center in Cibola County: 1
- Otero County Prison Facility: 466
- Penitentiary of New Mexico in Santa Fe County: 1
DOH said they have found at least one case in 43 long-term care and care facilities in the last 28 days, an increase of three facilities since Wednesday’s announcement.
