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- The state Department of Health reported 281 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. This represented the highest number in a single day since late July. Read more details, including on which counties had the most new cases, here.
- Thanks to some federal money, the state’s revenue projections are better than the last projection earlier this year—but legislators are still cautious about the unpredicatable impact of the pandemic and the economic response, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
- Legislators may raise the tax on health insurance providers in New Mexico to raise revenue, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.
- Three more staff members and four students tested positive for COVID-19, the state Public Education Department announced on Wednesday. The students were one in Chaves County who hadn’t been on school property since Sept. 18, one in McKinley County who was last on school property on Sept. 22 and two in Lea County who were last on school property on Sept. 15. The staff members were a staff member in Doña Ana County who was last on school property on Sept. 11, a staff member in Eddy County who was last on school property on Sept. 22 and a staff member in Santa Fe County who was last on school property on Sept. 28.
- The Navajo Nation extended its nightly curfews and planned weekend curfews to slow the spread of COVID-19 after a recent uptick in cases, the Farmington Daily-Times reported.
- Another worker at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Eddy County tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total to 37, 18 of which are designated as recovered, the Carlsbad Current-Argus reported.
- Remote learning is difficult in Española because of poor internet connectivity, Searchlight New Mexico reported.
- The state of New Mexico is working hard to get ahead of a potential “twindemic” with COVID-19 and the annual flu, KOAT-TV reported.
- UNM employees want better working conditions and hazard pay for working during COVID-19, the Daily Lobo reported.
- The City of Santa Fe let the lease expire for a shelter as the shelter struggles during the COVID-19 restrictions that only allow the facility to fill 36 of its 120 beds, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.
- The pandemic and President Donald Trump’s student visa ban is making it harder for ski areas and resorts to hire in their usual way, KOB-TV reported.
- A video showed people, most without masks, singing and dancing at Birrieria Abelitas Restaurant in Santa Fe, KRQE-TV reported.
- The state Department of Health said scammers are trying to get personal information from those who believe they are interviewing for a job with the department. DOH said that job seekers should check to make sure the job is on the State Personnel Office website and that job seekers will not be asked to fill out any employment forms until they report for their first day of work.
- New Mexico State University will not have an in-person commencement for students who graduate after the fall semester, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported.
- Aa Halloween nears, one Albuquerque haunted house has COVID-19 safe procedures in place, KRQE-TV reported.
- A pumpkin patch in Farmington will also reopen with COVID-afe practices, KOB-TV reported.
- There were no positive tests for any members of New Mexico United or 80+ traveling fans who attended a game in Colorado Springs on Sept. 19, KRQE-TV reported.
- It turns out the Albuquerque BioPark’s aquarium will not be reopening as the city of Albuquerque had planned on, since the state’s public health orders don’t allow for it, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
