October 15, 2020

Recap of New Mexico COVID-19 news (10/15/20 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. On Wednesday, New Mexico obliterated the record it didn’t want to break, when state health officials reported 577 new cases of COVID-19, nearly 100 more than the previous record. […]

Matthew Reichbach

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.

On Wednesday, New Mexico obliterated the record it didn’t want to break, when state health officials reported 577 new cases of COVID-19, nearly 100 more than the previous record. Read more details here.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham will hold a press conference today to discuss the state’s COVID-19 response at 3 p.m. You can watch at the governor’s Facebook page.
Lujan Grisham said the state will step up enforcement of COVID-19 restrictions, KRQE-TV reported.
KOAT-TV reported that UNM Hospital is at capacity.
Also not good news? The state is seeing more hospitalizations for non-COVID-19 reasons even as hospitalizations increase for COVID-19, KOB-TV reported.
Navajo Nation health officials reported 40 new cases of COVID-19 across the Navajo Nation.
The Navajo Nation also allocated all of its CARES Act funding, the Albuquerque Journal reported. All of the money must be spent before the end of the year.
Bernalillo County is offering CARES Act funding for those who need assistance in paying for rent or utilities, KRQE-TV reported.
A Santa Fe company is developing a COVID-19 treatment, KOB-TV reported.
New Mexico voters are definitely going to the polls; nearly 100,000 voters have already cast ballots (including a growing number of absentee ballots as absentee ballots head for a record number during the pandemic). Read more here.
Albuquerque Public Schools said that checkups by Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputies on students with poor attendance for virtual learning is against the district’s policies which say attendance information cannot be shared with law enforcement, KRQE-TV reported.
A county-run detox center in Albuquerque reopened after closing because of fears of COVID-19 spread, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
A private lab in Albuquerque is offering COVID-19 tests it says will return results in 20 minutes, but warned that negative tests would still need to be confirmed with a PCR test which the state Department of Health has called the “gold standard” of COVID-19 testing. Read more from the Albuquerque Journal.
Sandia Speedways will hosted a race this weekend that broke the state’s COVID-19 rules, KRQE-TV reported.
The Silver City Town Council said that mask-wearing is down, the Silver City Daily Press reported. This comes as the cases rise statewide.
A go-kart business in Albuquerque was forced to close because of the pandemic, KOB-TV reported.
Per the Pew Charitable Trusts, New Mexico had a 28.2 percent drop in employment in the leisure and hospitality industry from February until August, the month for which the latest numbers are available.
Frontier Restaurant in Albuquerque, a local institution across the street from the University of New Mexico, is providing its employees with KN95 masks, KOB-TV reported.
New Mexico State University’s men’s basketball team held its first official practice after the change in restrictions, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported.
A Día de los Muertos event in Mesilla was cancelled, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported.