February 16, 2021

Recap of New Mexico COVID-19 news (2/16/21 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 reported just 200 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, the lowest number in months. The state also reported nine additional deaths related to the […]

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 reported just 200 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, the lowest number in months. The state also reported nine additional deaths related to the disease. Read more here.
As of Monday, the state of New Mexico reported it had administered 437,903 doses out of the 429,950 it had received. This is because some providers have been able to use six doses of the Pfizer vaccine out of each vial marked for five doses. So far, 300,913 primary doses have been administered and 136,990 booster doses. This includes 85,715 doses in the last seven days.
The state Supreme Court issued its written opinion on its ruling that the state Department of Health could issue COVID-19 orders without the rulemaking process. Read more here.
Last week, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham joined other governors and mayors in a meeting with President Joe Biden in the White House. Read more here.
A new variant of COVID-19 was found in New Mexico and nearby states according to scientists at the University of New Mexico, KRQE-TV reported, citing a pre-print (not yet peer-reviewed) paper on medRxiv.
A researcher at the University of New Mexico spoke about the skepticism over vaccines among Latinos, KUNM-FM reported.
Arrests for DWI have dropped during the pandemic, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
Some students in Las Cruces testified in a legislative committee in support of allowing outdoor classrooms, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported.
The Las Cruces Sun-News wrote about the plans by Las Cruces Public Schools to increase in-person learning.
The teachers union for Albuquerque Public Schools said they were “surprised and alarmed” at the idea of reopening in-person learning before school employees could be vaccinated, the Daily Lobo reported.
Organizers of the Gathering of Nations Powwow canceled the in-person gathering for the second straight year, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
Some restaurants in the Mesilla Valley that had long planned to expand their locations took time during the pandemic to do so, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported.