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Bernalillo County reaches new record of COVID-19 cases; state hits second-highest daily number

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The New Mexico Department of Health announced nearly 250 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19, including nearly 100 in Bernalillo County and more than 40 in Doña Ana County. The state also announced three additional deaths related to the disease. The news came a day after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced that the state would not ease restrictions and said that those who do not wear masks would be subject to $100 fines. The state now has found 12,520 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and identified 503 deaths related to the disease. The 248 new cases was the second highest single-day number, following only June 5, when the state announced 331 confirmed cases, which included large increases in the Otero County Prison Facility.

coronavirus

If COVID-19 situation doesn’t improve, NM may bring back restrictions

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Not only is the state not going to expand its reopening, but if the COVID-19 situation in the state does not improve, the state could be looking at reimposing restrictions like other states throughout the country, including two that neighbor New Mexico. That was the message during Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s weekly press conference on COVID-19 in the state. 

“If we do not stabilize, we will move backward,” she said. Related: NM hits 500 total COVID-19 deaths

She announced two big changes to a public health order, which will run through July 15: All travelers from other states will be required to self-quarantine for 14 days and those not wearing masks in public will be subject to fines. Lujan Grisham said she wished she didn’t have to enforce the mask mandate through fines, but that there was not enough adherence to the state’s mask requirement. Businesses will also have a responsibility, she said. 

“Businesses, you must require customers to wear face coverings,” Lujan Grisham said.

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NM hits 500 total COVID-19 deaths

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New Mexico Health officials announced Wednesday an additional three deaths related to COVID-19, bringing the total number of deaths to 500. 

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham also announced the new numbers during a news conference on Wednesday and called the number of deaths a “grim milestone.”

“Every single one of these is an incredible loss to the families and loved ones and to the entire state,” Lujan Grisham said. “And I know that it goes without saying that everyone mourns these losses and we send our condolences to the families.”

The most recent deaths related to COVID-19 are as follows:

A male in his 60s from McKinley County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions.A female in her 80s from McKinley County who had underlying conditions.A male in his 70s from Bernalillo County who was a patient at the Princeton Place facility in Albuquerque. State officials also announced an additional 130 cases of COVID-19 in the state for a total of 12,276 cases since the disease was first reported in the state in March. According to health officials there are 127 people currently being hospitalized for COVID-19, with 38 of them on ventilators. There are 5,514 cases that are deemed recovered, an increase of 121 since Tuesday, according to health officials.

News

Governor signs revised budget, vetoes items

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Governors don’t usually sign a budget twice in one year. But this is no normal year. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham gave her blessing to New Mexico’s revised budget legislation Tuesday, but she also used her veto power to cancel some of the cuts legislators approved during the special session. “We must recalibrate our state’s budget to meet these challenging times,” Lujan Grisham wrote in a letter to the state House of Representatives upon signing House Bill 1. “However, we should not lose sight of the important work that is still needed to create lasting opportunities for all New Mexicans.”

The budget plan uses a combination of spending cuts, reserves and federal funding to deal with a projected $2 billion drop in state revenue for the next fiscal year, which begins Wednesday.

News

DOH: 168 new COVID-19 cases, including new high in Lea County, four additional deaths

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The New Mexico Department of Health announced on Tuesday 168 additional cases and four deaths related to the disease. Lea County saw a large increase in cases to 19, more-than-double the previous high of eight cases, which occurred on June 20 and June 22. The county now has 132 total confirmed cases of COVID-19. Bernalillo County, once again, had the most new cases in the state with 36, while Curry County again had a double-digit number of new cases, for the second day in a row; six counties in all had increases of ten or more confirmed cases on Tuesday. The newly reported cases bring the total number to 12,147 in the state, with 497 deaths.