Recap of New Mexico COVID-19 news (8/10/20 edition)

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. This weekend, the state of New Mexico reported 360 new cases of COVID-19, with 155 on Saturday and 205 on Sunday. The state also reported 10 additional deaths related […]

Recap of New Mexico COVID-19 news (8/10/20 edition)

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.

  • This weekend, the state of New Mexico reported 360 new cases of COVID-19, with 155 on Saturday and 205 on Sunday. The state also reported 10 additional deaths related to the disease.
  • Navajo Nation health officials reported 51 new COVID-19 cases and four more deaths this weekend (Saturday and Sunday). This brings the total number of cases for the Navajo Nation to 9,308, with 6,859 who have recovered and 472 who have died.
  • The Santa Fe New Mexican wrote about state data that showed restaurants are one of the riskiest workplaces for COVID-19.
  • A Searchlight New Mexico reporter wrote about the loneliness of Navajo elders amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Poverty advocates say that tens-of-thousands of people may become homeless when the eviction moratorium ends at the end of the state public health order, KRQE-TV reported. Landlords cannot evict people if the renter can prove they are unable to pay while the public health order is in effect.
  • New Mexico’s low positivity rate makes it unique among states in the region, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.
  • State officials are warning that some scammers are posting as contact tracers, KOAT-TV reported. They say that contact tracers will never ask for credit card information.
  • A staff member at Hatch Valley Elementary School tested positive for COVID-19, a day after staff returned to the campus, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported.
  • The pandemic is hurting the chile crop this year by hindering the workforce, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
  • Out-of-state students moved into the dorms at the University of New Mexico and are now subject to the state’s 14-day quarantine for those who have traveled out-of-state, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
  • The state Public Education Department said that all employees who can do their jobs from home should do so at schools, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
  • The Santa Fe New Mexican wrote about the Santa Fe Public Schools’ plans for a more-structured remote learning effort his fall.
  • New Mexico could be one of a just a few states to hold in-person bar exams for aspiring attorneys, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
  • A small caravan of people traveled from Roswell to Carlsbad to protest the state’s public health order, the Roswell Daily Record reported.
  • A church hosted a rodeo that it called a “protest” in the East Mountains, KRQE-TV reported.
  • The city of Las Cruces launched a program called Las Cruces Safe Promise, a program to promote behaviors to help slow the spread of COVID-19, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported.
  • Some Republicans are pushing for an extraordinary session, which has only happened once in state state history, to repeal some parts of the state public health order, KOB-TV reported. Barring something incredibly unusual—it would take three-fifths of the members of both the House and Senate to force an extraordinary session—it won’t happen.
  • Because of the pandemic, some consumers took advantage of tax-free weekend with online shopping, KRQE-TV reported. The state recently enacted taxes for online purchases after a U.S. Supreme Court decision that paved the way. 
  • A judge temporarily blocked an effort to require teachers to report to work to watch professional development videos in-person, KRQE-TV reported.
  • San Juan County and municipal governments in the area are seeking applying for state grants to help businesses hurt by COVID-19, the Farmington Daily Times reported.
  • The Journal North wrote about the tensions between tourists and locals in Taos, a tourist-dependent town, during the pandemic.
  • Over 100 businesses in Chaves County, including Roswell, applied for aid through the CARES Act, the Roswell Daily Record reported, citing the Roswell-Chaves County Economic Development Corp.
  • The Carlsbad Current-Argus wrote about how the Assistance League is helping people during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Restaurants in the Las Cruces area are setting up tents amid the ban on in-person dining, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported.

Update: This post originally identified Carlsbad as in Lea County, not Eddy County.

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