October 29, 2020

Over 1,000 new cases of COVID-19 in NM, shattering state’s previous record

The state Department of Health reported over 1,000 cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, the first day that the state has reported even more than 900 cases in a single day. The department also announced three additional deaths related to COVID-19. Hospitalizations in New Mexico continued their upward trend as well, and the number of those […]

Matthew Reichbach

The state Department of Health reported over 1,000 cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, the first day that the state has reported even more than 900 cases in a single day.

The department also announced three additional deaths related to COVID-19.

Hospitalizations in New Mexico continued their upward trend as well, and the number of those hospitalized is approaching four times what it was at the beginning of October.

Nearly half of the 1,082 new cases were from just two counties: 260 from Bernalillo County and 249 from Doña Ana County. The increase in cases in Doña Ana County—a record for a single day— comes as growth of the disease across the border in El Paso County, Texas continues at a dizzying rate.

Luna County has also seen massive growth in recent weeks, DOH reported another 106 cases on Thursday, the most for that county in a single day.

DOH reported another 67 cases in Lea County, 51 cases in Santa Fe County, 49 cases in Valencia County and 41 cases in Sandoval County.

In all, DOH reported at least one case of COVID-19 in 29 of the state’s 33 counties. DOH also reported five new cases among those held by the state Department of Corrections or for federal agencies in prisons and detention centers around the state.

Hospitalizations for COVID-19 in New Mexico grew to 323 individuals, an increase of ten from Wednesday’s announcement. This could include those who are hospitalized in New Mexico from other states, but would not include New Mexico residents who are hospitalized in other states. The number of those from other states has remained relatively low and health officials have said this is typically about the same number as New Mexicans who are hospitalized out of state.

In all, 80 percent of general hospital beds are currently occupied and 75 percent of ICU beds. This includes those hospitalized for all reasons, not just COVID-19.

DOH provided some details on each of the three additional deaths.

A male in his 70s from Bernalillo County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions.
A male in his 90s from Grant County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions.
A female in her 20s from Sandoval County who had underlying conditions.

As usual, DOH did not disclose which underlying conditions any of the deceased had, only if one was present. According to the latest state epidemiology report, the most common underlying condition among those who have died in New Mexico so far is cardiovascular disease, followed by diabetes and hypertension. Some who have died had multiple conditions.

DOH has now found 44,904 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among New Mexicans, and reported 994 deaths related to the disease.

Of the confirmed cases, 21,389 are designated as recovered by DOH, an increase of 165 since Wednesday.

Testing details

The state coronavirus information page said that 1,153,185 tests have been processed in the state, an increase of 11,999 since Wednesday’s announcement.

The test positivity rate among the newly reported tests was 9.02 percent. When calculating the positivity rate for gating criteria, DOH uses the date specimens are collected, not when results are reported, which can lead to lag as some labs take longer to process and report results.

DOH provided the number of newly reported cases by county.

260 new cases in Bernalillo County
32 new cases in Chaves County
36 new cases in Cibola County
28 new cases in Curry County
248 new cases in Doña Ana County
24 new cases in Eddy County
4 new cases in Grant County
1 new case in Guadalupe County
5 new cases in Hidalgo County
67 new cases in Lea County
4 new cases in Lincoln County
1 new case in Los Alamos County
106 new cases in Luna County
25 new cases in McKinley County
1 new case in Mora County
14 new cases in Otero County
2 new cases in Quay County
12 new cases in Rio Arriba County
6 new cases in Roosevelt County
41 new cases in Sandoval County
17 new cases in San Juan County
7 new cases in San Miguel County
51 new cases in Santa Fe County
6 new cases in Sierra County
11 new cases in Socorro County
17 new cases in Taos County
1 new case in Torrance County
1 new case in Union County
49 new cases in Valencia County
2 new cases among individuals held by federal agencies at the Otero County Processing Center
2 new cases among New Mexico Corrections Department inmates at the Central New Mexico Correctional Facility in Valencia County
1 new case among New Mexico Corrections Department inmates at the Penitentiary of New Mexico in Santa Fe County

DOH also provided the total number of cases by county, including the newly reported cases from Thursday.

Three previously reported cases (one in each of Chaves, Doña Ana and Sandoval counties) were identified as duplicates and one previously reported case in Bernalillo County was not lab confirmed. These have been corrected and removed from the totals.

Bernalillo County: 11,116
Catron County: 10
Chaves County: 2,066
Cibola County: 607
Colfax County: 45
Curry County: 1,596
De Baca County: 2
Doña Ana County: 6,325
Eddy County: 1,505
Grant County: 191
Guadalupe County: 43
Harding County: 1
Hidalgo County: 122
Lea County: 2,177
Lincoln County: 384
Los Alamos County: 48
Luna County: 1,082
McKinley County: 4,674
Mora County: 15
Otero County: 527
Quay County: 104
Rio Arriba County: 513
Roosevelt County: 469
Sandoval County: 2,040
San Juan County: 3,805
San Miguel County: 182
Santa Fe County: 1,791
Sierra County: 116
Socorro County: 248
Taos County: 245
Torrance County: 100
Union County: 41
Valencia County: 1,002

DOH reported the following numbers of COVID-19 cases among individuals held by federal agencies at the following facilities:

Cibola County Correctional Center: 348
Otero County Prison Facility: 390
Otero County Processing Center: 189
Torrance County Detention Facility: 44

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: 92
Lea County Correctional Facility: 110
Northeast New Mexico Correctional Facility in Union County: 5
Northwest New Mexico Correctional Center in Cibola County: 1
Otero County Prison Facility: 472
Penitentiary of New Mexico in Santa Fe County: 2
Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility in Doña Ana County: 55
Western New Mexico Correctional Facility in Cibola County: 4

DOH has identified at least one positive COVID-19 case in residents and/or staff in the past 28 days in 67 long-term care facilities, the same number as reported on Wednesday.