coronavirus

DOH: 1,252 additional COVID-19 cases and 32 deaths Saturday

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Hed: DOH: 1,252 additional COVID-19 cases and 32 deaths Saturday

The New Mexico Department of Health reported 1,252 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday and 32 additional deaths related to the disease. Bernalillo County had the most newly reported cases on Saturday, with 268. Three other counties had 100 or more new cases: San Juan County with 174; Doña Ana County with 117 and Eddy County with 104. On Saturday, the department reported 662 individuals were hospitalized for COVID-19, a decrease of 129 people since Friday. This could include those from other states who are hospitalized in New Mexico, but would not include New Mexicans who are hospitalized out of state.

coronavirus

DOH: 1,286 new cases of COVID-19 and 25 additional deaths Friday

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The state Department of Health reported 1,286 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday and 25 additional deaths related to the disease. Bernalillo County had the most newly reported cases on Friday, with 316. Three other counties had 100 or more new cases: San Juan County with 155; Sandoval County with 108; Doña Ana County with 160. On Friday, the department reported 791 individuals were hospitalized for COVID-19, an decrease of 12 people since Thursday. This could include those from other states who are hospitalized in New Mexico, but would not include New Mexicans who are hospitalized out of state.

coronavirus

DOH: 1,684 new COVID-19 cases and 41 deaths

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The state Department of Health reported 1,684 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday and 41 additional deaths related to the disease. Bernalillo County had the most newly reported cases on Thursday, with 434. Four other counties had 100 or more new cases: San Juan County with 196; Sandoval County with 121; Doña Ana and Lea counties with 118. On Thursday, the department reported 803 individuals were hospitalized for COVID-19, an increase of 11 people since Wednesday. This could include those from other states who are hospitalized in New Mexico, but would not include New Mexicans who are hospitalized out of state.

2020 Top Stories

2020 Top Stories #4: NM state Senate shifts left

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See our entire countdown of top stories, to date, here. After a long battle that caused some long-time state lawmakers to lose their seats, the state Senate shifted left in 2020. Long-time state Senators John Arthur Smith in SD 35; President Pro Tem Mary Kay Papen in SD 38; Clemente Sanchez in SD 30; Richard Martinez in SD 5 and incumbent Gabriel “Gabe” Ramos in SD 28 all lost their seats to progressive Democrats in the June primary election. Of the progressive Democrats who won the primary: Neomi Martinez-Para against Smith; Carrie Hamblen against Papen; Pam Cordova against Sanchez; Leo Jaramillo against Martinez; and Siah Correa Hemphill against Ramos, only Martinez-Parra and Cordova lost the general election to Republicans. Related: State Senate shifts left with progressive wins

The Nov.

Aaron McKinney

An anti-discrimination bill to help protect LGBTQ expected to be filed next month

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An anti-discrimination bill to help protect the LGBTQ community in the state will be filed in January ahead of the state legislative session. State Sen. Jacob Candelaria, D-Albuquerque, is sponsoring the panic defense bill, which he introduced in the 2019 Legislature. That year, SB 159 passed two committees but Candelaria said he pulled the bill to wait for a friendlier time in the Legislature. He noted that after the Nov. 3 election, there will be six lawmakers, including Candelaria, who are openly members of the LGBTQ community.

Alisa Diehl

Yazzie-Martinez plaintiffs want court to order state to address remote learning issues

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The plaintiffs in a lawsuit over educational resources in New Mexico filed a request with the First Judicial District Court on Wednesday to order the state to provide computers and high-speed internet access to thousands of at risk students who lack tools for remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. An estimated 23 percent of the New Mexico population lacks broadband internet service, according to the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty (NMCLP). The nonprofit, which is providing legal counsel to the plaintiffs of the Yazzie-Martinez lawsuit, estimated that 80 percent of Native Americans living on tribal lands do not have internet services at all. Florena Valencia, of the San Felipe Pueblo, and her three daughters are one Native American family who lack internet at home. Valencia sat with her three daughters in her hot car in the warmer months while her children tried to learn remotely, she said.

Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical CEnter

First vaccine rolls out in New Mexico Monday

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The first  batch of COVID-19 vaccines have already arrived in New Mexico. Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in Santa Fe received its first shipment of the first COVID-19 vaccine Monday. Christus St. Vincent was one of 145 hospitals in the country to receive the vaccine Monday, according to the hospital’s Facebook page.

coronavirus

Reset helped but recent ‘uptick’ worrisome, officials say

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Although cases of COVID-19 dropped due to what Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham calls the “reset,” she encouraged the state to “stay the course” through the holidays. New Mexico Human Services Secretary Dr. David Scrase, who joined Lujan Grisham remotely for the press conference aired over social media Wednesday, said the “reset really did work.”

“We flattened the curve. It got flat. We know the reset helped a great deal and Thanksgiving helped because people were less mobile,” he said. But, Scrase said, the state is seeing an uptick, which he called “worrisome.”

“We cannot take on another 100 patients at this point in time.

Beata Tsosie

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives Task Force finds gaps in data

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Tiffany Reid, Diné (Navajo) went missing in 2004. She was 17. Law enforcement has still not entered her case into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), her cousin, Becky Johnson, said. Johnson is a member of the state Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives (MMIWR) Task Force established by House Bill 278 in 2019. The New Mexico Indian Affairs Department convened the task force and the group released its first report to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, the public and state legislators Wednesday.

coronavirus

Hospitals expected to begin rationing care before end of the month, say officials

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New Mexico has a record-breaking 1,007 individuals in the hospital, according to New Mexico Human Services Secretary Dr. David Scrase. Scrase provided that number during a webinar Tuesday to discuss more in-depth the crisis standard of care. The state experienced technical difficulties, which meant that the event was not aired live over social platforms and that the state could not provide its daily update on additional COVID-19 cases and deaths. Scrase said the state will officially go into the crisis standard of care at hospitals before the end of the month. “In terms of timing, we’re here today because it could be very soon.