January 27, 2021

Recap of New Mexico COVID-19 news (1/27/21 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. The state Department of Health announced 602 new cases of COVID-19 and 14 additional deaths related to the disease, as the average number of cases continued its weeks-long drop. […]

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.

The state Department of Health announced 602 new cases of COVID-19 and 14 additional deaths related to the disease, as the average number of cases continued its weeks-long drop. Also, DOH reported 561 individuals hospitalized for COVID-19—the lowest total since the state changed to collecting data directly from hospitals (hospitals reported just 435 hospitalizations for the disease on Monday, but this was with partial data).
As of Tuesday, New Mexico had administered 216,913 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, an increase of 7,333 over Monday, out of 235,025 doses received from the federal government. The state had administered 63,453 in the previous seven days.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced in her State of the State address that in-person schooling could start again for all students (depending on the decision of their local school districts) on Feb. 8. See more details here.
- Many students and teachers are wary of returning to school until they have been vaccinated, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.
- Albuquerque Public Schools, the school district with the most students in the state, hasn’t made a decision on whether or not to open in the hybrid model, KOB-TV reported.
- Roswell Independent School District is preparing to open through the hybrid model, the Roswell Daily Record reported.
- Rio Rancho School District was one of the districts that was surprised by the announcement, KOB-TV reported.
The state will update its “red to green” map, which determines which counties can have looser restrictions as the spread of COVID-19 slows, on Wednesday, and several counties appear to be trending in the right direction, KRQE-TV reported.
Española’s mayor said local businesses have been hurt the most by the pandemic, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.
A relief bill to provide a $600 cash rebate to those who earned $31,200 or less and another to provide a tax break for restaurants and breweries cleared a Senate committee unanimously on Tuesday, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
A town hall held by New Mexico State University’s president addressed COVID-19, mental health and other topics, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported.
The number of communities in the Navajo Nation with “uncontrolled” spread of COVID-19 dropped last week, the Farmington Daily Times reported.
- Navajo Nation health officials reported 87 new cases of COVID-19 and eight additional deaths related to the disease on Tuesday.
A task force developed by the city of Rio Rancho would study ways to attract “digital nomads” who can work remotely, the Rio Rancho Observer reported. Many white collar workers were able to work from home during the pandemic, and it may continue afterward.