Recap of New Mexico COVID-19 news (12/14/20 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 reported over 5,100 new COVID-19 cases and 111 deaths related to the disease over the last three days. DOH reported 1,849 cases and 43 deaths on Friday, […]

Recap of New Mexico COVID-19 news (12/14/20 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 reported over 5,100 new COVID-19 cases and 111 deaths related to the disease over the last three days. DOH reported 1,849 cases and 43 deaths on Friday, 1,803 new cases and 24 new deaths on Saturday and 1,459 new cases and 44 new deaths on Sunday. The 44 deaths matched the single-day high so far in the state.
    • Cases have been dropping in New Mexico, the USA Today Network reported. The positivity rate was still much higher than the 5 percent the state and health officials say should be the upper limit.
    • Many places on the COVID-19 watchlist are grocery and big box stores, KRQE-TV reported.
  • The Santa Fe New Mexican had a big story about the situation in Christus St. Vincent’s Frost 19 ward. Robert Nott wrote, “this is the reality of the coronavirus pandemic, now in its ninth month — an endless battle in which the essence of human existence reveals itself, seemingly at random — both to those fighting the disease and those struggling to keep them alive.”
  • The Santa Fe New Mexican covered what to expect as vaccines start to be distributed throughout the state. The initial batch will be for frontline healthcare workers.
  • Lovelace Medical is planning on starting to provide vaccinations for staff within days, KOAT-TV reported.
  • Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center in Alamogordo will get 250 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for frontline healthcare workers, the Alamogordo Daily News reported.
  • There will be no in-person learning for students until at least Jan. 18, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.
  • The pandemic has led to more trouble finding childcare for working parents, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
  • Nursing homes in Santa Fe are having a difficult time keeping the spirits of residents up ahead of the holiday season, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.
  • State legislative leaders will discuss what next year’s legislative session will look like with COVID-19 restrictions in place, KOB-TV reported.
  • Two members of the Roswell City Council spoke about their experience with COVID-19, and the impacts they continue to have a month after they were first diagnosed, the Roswell Daily Record reported.
  • Tens of thousands of low-income residents who did not receive a COVID-19 relief payment earlier this year have sent in applications for state funds, the Associated Press reported.
  • The City of Aztec voted to pay utility bills for those who were unable to do so during the pandemic using CARES Act funding, the Farmington Daily Times reported.
  • The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant reported that 16 more workers tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total at the nuclear waste facility to 161, the Carlsbad Current-Argus reported.
  • Bueno Foods will partner with the state for COVID-19 testing for employees and the community, KRQE-TV reported.
  • The Farmington City Council will have an update on COVID-19, including an invitation to representatives from the San Juan Regional Medical Center, the San Juan County Office of Emergency Management and the Farmington Fire Department, the Farmington Daily Times reported.
  • The Alamogordo Public Library will restart curbside pickup, the Alamogordo Daily News reported.
  • Some handed out baked goods and hot chocolate to those waiting in line at grocery stores in Las Cruces this weekend, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported.
  • Customers at the Railyards market waited in line for hours for drive-thru pickup, KRQE-TV reported.

We're ad free

That means that we rely on support from readers like you. Help us keep reporting on the most important New Mexico Stories by donating today.

Related

Politics Newsletter: Special Session recap

Politics Newsletter: Special Session recap

Hello fellow political junkies! Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham called a special session on July 18 to tackle public safety issues ranging from criminal competency…
Legislators pass disaster assistance funding, end special session quickly

Legislators pass disaster assistance funding, end special session quickly

The two issues passed were only a fraction of what Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham had on her special session agenda.
House votes to pass bill for fire relief, behavioral health treatments

House votes to pass bill for fire relief, behavioral health treatments

The House voted overwhelmingly to pass HB 1, the appropriations bill that provides funding for the special session, fire relief and behavioral health court…
PRC approves NM Gas Co. rate increase agreement

PRC approves NM Gas Co. rate increase agreement

The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission approved a stipulated agreement which is expected to result in a rate increase for customers.  The stipulated agreement…
12 tribes and pueblos in New Mexico could benefit from pending water rights settlements

12 tribes and pueblos in New Mexico could benefit from pending water rights settlements

For generations, the Zuni people were able to grow food in the New Mexico desert through what Pueblo of Zuni Gov. Arden Kucate described…

Climate change is bringing more deadly heat to New Mexico

Heat-related deaths and illnesses are increasing in New Mexico, as the state has experienced greater increases in temperature than many other parts of the…
Early childhood summit convened to discuss future of program

Early childhood summit convened to discuss future of program

About 200 people from tribal governors to legislators to advocates and teachers gathered at Bishop’s Lodge to discuss Early Childhood Education’s future in New…
Stansbury outlines funding secured for early childhood and youth services programs

Stansbury outlines funding secured for early childhood and youth services programs

U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury secured $8.3 million for childhood development and youth services in the 1st congressional district through federal community project funding. Stansbury,…
Amid new graduation requirements, what do high schoolers want to learn?

Amid new graduation requirements, what do high schoolers want to learn?

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican The main things that bring Brayan Chavez to school every day: Seeing, talking to and engaging with…
Some mental health issues on the rise in New Mexico

Some mental health issues on the rise in New Mexico

A recent report by KFF, a foundation that provides health policy analysis, found mental health issues on the rise and disparities in mental health…
Heinrich questions FDA leadership on baby formula safety, mifepristone

Heinrich questions FDA leadership on baby formula safety, mifepristone

U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf answered questions about the safety of human milk formula and mifepristone on Wednesday. Sen. Martin…
Health workers fear it’s profits before protection as CDC revisits airborne transmission

Health workers fear it’s profits before protection as CDC revisits airborne transmission

Amy Maxmen, KFF Health News Four years after hospitals in New York City overflowed with covid-19 patients, emergency physician Sonya Stokes remains shaken by…
Harris could excite Democratic voters on reproductive health

Harris could excite Democratic voters on reproductive health

Data indicates Vice President Kamala Harris could excite the Democratic base around the issue of abortion in a way that President Joe Biden struggled…
Reproductive rights groups endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president

Reproductive rights groups endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president

Vice President Kamala Harris, who announced on Sunday her intention to replace President Joe Biden as the presidential Democratic nominee, received immediate support from…
Heinrich files amendment to protect reproductive rights for the military

Heinrich files amendment to protect reproductive rights for the military

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich filed an amendment on Tuesday to codify a rule protecting veteran access to abortion in the case of rape, incest…
Supreme Court upends environmental and reproductive rights protections

Supreme Court upends environmental and reproductive rights protections

Two years after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the high court overturned another long-standing precedent on Friday that could undue both…
Supreme Court dismisses abortion case, advocates say it keeps legal questions open

Supreme Court dismisses abortion case, advocates say it keeps legal questions open

The Supreme Court punted on Thursday on a second abortion decision it heard this term, leaving open the question of whether a federal law…
Biden will protect reproductive access, Health Secretary says during a multi-state reproductive access tour 

Biden will protect reproductive access, Health Secretary says during a multi-state reproductive access tour 

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said at a Planned Parenthood space for LGBTQ youth in Albuquerque that if President Joe Biden…
Harris could excite Democratic voters on reproductive health

Harris could excite Democratic voters on reproductive health

Data indicates Vice President Kamala Harris could excite the Democratic base around the issue of abortion in a way that President Joe Biden struggled…
Reproductive rights groups endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president

Reproductive rights groups endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president

Vice President Kamala Harris, who announced on Sunday her intention to replace President Joe Biden as the presidential Democratic nominee, received immediate support from…
Talking to NM Democratic delegates after Biden leaves race, endorses Harris

Talking to NM Democratic delegates after Biden leaves race, endorses Harris

President Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign on Sunday leaving questions about what happens to the ballot now. Rules were already in place for…
MLG public safety town hall draws crowd

MLG public safety town hall draws crowd

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham held the first of three planned public safety town hall meetings in Las Cruces on Thursday to promote her special…
Harris could excite Democratic voters on reproductive health

Harris could excite Democratic voters on reproductive health

Data indicates Vice President Kamala Harris could excite the Democratic base around the issue of abortion in a way that President Joe Biden struggled…
Reproductive rights groups endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president

Reproductive rights groups endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president

Vice President Kamala Harris, who announced on Sunday her intention to replace President Joe Biden as the presidential Democratic nominee, received immediate support from…

GET INVOLVED

© 2023 New Mexico Political Report