The number of new cases announced on Wednesday by state health officials was close to 300, as cases in the state continue to grow at a new high level of sustained growth.
The state Department of Health announced 290 additional COVID-19 cases on Wednesday and eight additional deaths related to the disease. The new number of cases represented the seventh consecutive day of 200 or more cases. Before the start of the current streak on July 2, the state had recorded 200 or more cases on only nine individual days.
Just over one-third, or 99, of the cases came from residents of Bernalillo County, which is the state’s most populous county. Doña Ana County reported 53 new cases. The number of cases grew by double-digits in six other counties.
The state also saw a large increase in those hospitalized for COVID-19.
According to DOH numbers, the state processed 4,445 tests since Tuesday’s announcement, which meant that 6.52 percent of all tests were positive.
As of Wednesday, DOH identified 14,017 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and identified 527 deaths related to the disease since the start of the pandemic in March.
The state provided some details on each of those with deaths related to COVID-19.
- A male in his 50s from Bernalillo County.
- A male in his 60s from Bernalillo County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions.
- A female in her 90s from Bernalillo County who was a resident of the Princeton Place facility in Albuquerque.
- A male in his 80s from Doña Ana County who was hospitalized.
- A male in his 60s from McKinley County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions.
- A second male in his 60s from McKinley County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions.
- A male in his 70s from McKinley County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions.
- A male in his 40s from San Juan County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions.
The state did not disclose which underlying condition each person had before their death, only if one was present.
The number of those hospitalized for COVID-19 increased to 154, 19 more than Tuesday’s announcement. The number could include those from out-of-state who are hospitalized for COVID-19 in New Mexico, but would not include New Mexico residents who are hospitalized out-of-state.
The number represented the first day with more than 150 people hospitalized for COVID-19 in New Mexico since June 18. At its peak, the state had 223 people hospitalized for COVID-19 on May 15.
The number of those designated as recovered by DOH reached 6,051, an increase of 65 people over Tuesday’s announcement.
Testing details
The state’s coronavirus information page said that 389,687 COVID-19 tests have been processed as of Wednesday, an increase of 4,445 tests since Tuesday.
The state also provided the number of confirmed cases per county. Chaves County’s 14 new cases represented a new high in cases, while Lea County had its fifth day of double-digit increases in the last ten days.
Doña Ana County also had its third day of more than 50 newly reported cases in the last week. More than a quarter, or 328, of Doña Ana County’s COVID-19 cases occurred since July 1.
- 99 new cases in Bernalillo County
- 14 new cases in Chaves County
- 1 new case in Cibola County
- 6 new cases in Curry County
- 53 new cases in Doña Ana County
- 9 new cases in Eddy County
- 3 new cases in Grant County
- 1 new case in Hidalgo County
- 12 new cases in Lea County
- 2 new cases in Lincoln County
- 1 new case in Luna County
- 23 new cases in McKinley County
- 1 new case in Otero County
- 1 new case in Quay County
- 5 new cases in Rio Arriba County
- 16 new cases in Sandoval County
- 18 new cases in San Juan County
- 10 new cases in Santa Fe County
- 2 new cases in Taos County
- 8 new cases in Valencia County
- 5 new cases among New Mexico Corrections Department inmates at the Otero County Prison Facility
The state also provided the total number of cases by county, with the number of confirmed cases in detention centers that house state and federal inmates separated from the counties in which they are located.
- Bernalillo County: 2,717
- Catron County: 2
- Chaves County: 147
- Cibola County: 243
- Colfax County: 9
- Curry County: 207
- Doña Ana County: 1,285
- Eddy County: 116
- Grant County: 27
- Guadalupe County: 20
- Harding County: 1
- Hidalgo County: 62
- Lea County: 223
- Lincoln County: 16
- Los Alamos County: 11
- Luna County: 113
- McKinley County: 3,548
- Otero County: 65
- Quay County: 9
- Rio Arriba County: 124
- Roosevelt County: 74
- Sandoval County: 793
- San Juan County: 2,612
- San Miguel County: 23
- Santa Fe County: 293
- Sierra County: 14
- Socorro County: 61
- Taos County: 51
- Torrance County: 47
- Union County: 8
- Valencia County: 163
DOH reported the following numbers of COVID-19 cases among individuals held by federal agencies at the following facilities:
- Cibola County Correctional Center: 2
- Otero County Prison Facility: 275
- Otero County Processing Center: 149
- Torrance County Detention Facility: 43
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: 6
- Northwest New Mexico Correctional Center in Cibola County: 1
- Otero County Prison Facility: 456
- Penitentiary of New Mexico in Santa Fe County: 1
DOH also reported that 25 long-term care and acute care facilities had at least one positive COVID-19 case in residents and/or staff in the last 28 days, a decrease of six since Tuesday.
