Reversal of Trump gag rule on Title X funding proposed by the Biden administration

This week, the Joe Biden administration proposed to reverse a Donald Trump administration gag rule that affects how some family planning clinics provide abortion care information. Title X is a federal grant program that enables clinics to offer family planning services and preventive reproductive health care, primarily to low-income families who are uninsured or underinsured. New Mexico Department of Health family planning clinics, which receive Title X funding, provide contraception methods and related preventive health services including pre-conception health, sexually transmitted disease prevention education, screening, treatment and breast and cervical cancer screening, NMDOH spokesperson Jim Walton told NM Political Report by email. There are DOH family planning clinics in every county except Catron and Harding counties. Bernalillo County has 16 such clinics, Santa Fe County has seven, Doña Ana County has four and Rio Arriba County has three. 

There are 20 clinic sites that contract with DOH to provide family planning services, including nine school-based health centers.

Number of people hospitalized up 30 percent in one week, state announced 227 new cases Thursday

The state announced 227 additional cases of COVID-19 and five new related deaths during a news conference. The five additional deaths related to the disease brings that number to 882 total. The state Department of Health reported only the following information provided below on the five mortalities related to the disease. A female in her 30s from Bernalillo County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions.A male in his 70s from Doña Ana County who had underlying conditions.A female in her 70s from Eddy County who had underlying conditions and was a resident of the Lakeview Christian Home in Carlsbad.A male in his 20s from Rio Arriba County who had underlying conditions.A male in his 60s from Santa Fe County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions. DOH does not disclose which underlying condition any of the deceased had, only if one was present.

Uptick in cases after decline

After a decline in case numbers, the state reported an uptick in COVID-19 with 205 new cases Wednesday. DOH also announced five additional deaths Wednesday, which brings the mortalities related to COVID-19 to 755. One of those deaths was a man in his 100s from Sandoval County. He had underlying conditions and was a resident of Rio Rancho Center.  The following is the information DOH provided on the other four mortalities:

A female in her 80s from Bernalillo County who had underlying conditions and was a resident of the Las Palomas Center in Albuquerque.A female in her 40s 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 70s from Sandoval County who had underlying conditions and was a resident of the Rio Rancho Center in Rio Rancho.

255 new COVID-19 cases in NM including uptick in McKinley County

The state Department of Health announced Thursday 255 additional COVID-19 cases which includes a new uptick in cases in McKinley County. McKinley County, which has grappled with one of the highest numbers of cases of COVID-19 in the state, had eight cases Wednesday and low double digit numbers Monday and Tuesday but the county had 35 additional cases Thursday. Only Bernalillo County, with 63 new cases, had a higher total, but Bernalillo County has a population that is nearly 10 times larger. The newly confirmed cases represented 3.6 percent of the 7,026 tests processed since Wednesday. Human Services Department Secretary Dr. David Scrase said in a press conference Thursday that the state aimed to keep that number below 5 percent, while Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham hoped it could drop below 3 percent.

319 cases of COVID-19 with Bernalillo County reporting triple digits for third straight day

New Mexico has 319 new cases of COVID-19 with a third of those coming from Bernalillo County on Friday, according to the state Department of Health. This is the third straight day Bernalillo County has reported triple digits and the 16th straight day in a row that the state has had more than 200 cases. 

DOH reported 111 cases in Bernalillo County. Counties with double digit numbers are: Rio Arriba with 37; Doña Ana with 36; San Juan with 26; Valencia with 25 and McKinley with 16. The newly confirmed cases represented 3.5 percent of the 8,930 tests processed since Thursday. The state has processed 452,298 tests total, according to the state’s coronavirus information website.

15 straight days of more than 200 new cases in New Mexico of COVID-19

For the 15th day in a row, the New Mexico Department of Health reports more than 200 cases of COVID-19 and for the second day in a row, Bernalillo County reports triple digit new cases. The DOH reported 300 cases Thursday. Of that, 103 were in Bernalillo County. The other counties that continue to show double digit increases on a daily basis are Doña Ana with 39; McKinley with 20; San Juan with 16 and Sandoval with 15. Counties that showed a sudden uptick with double digit numbers for the first time are Lea County with 23 and Valencia County with 11.  

Eddy County also reported double digit numbers, with 13, for the first time since the weekend.

More than 12,000 tests, more than 300 cases of COVID-19, nearly half in Bernalillo County

With 12,650 tests since Tuesday, the state reported for the third time since the pandemic began more than 300 cases of COVID-19. The state Department of Health reported 330 additional cases of COVID-19. Nearly half of those from Bernalillo County, which had 162 new cases. The record for COVID-19 cases in New Mexico is 331. The other counties with double digit numbers are: Doña Ana, with 35; Santa Fe with 29; San Juan with 24; Sandoval with 14 and McKinley with 12.

The 13th day of more than 200 new cases of COVID-19 reported in New Mexico

New Mexico is experiencing another day of more than 200 cases of COVID-19, this time 227 with 65 of that coming from Bernalillo County. Doña Ana County is not far behind with 49 cases. McKinley County also continues to have double digit numbers of new cases with 22. Both San Juan and Santa Fe counties have double digit numbers as well with 12 new cases in each of those counties. This is the 13th straight day the New Mexico Department of Health has reported more than 200 cases in the state.

164 new cases, including seven new cases at federal facilities

The state announced 164 new cases of COVID-19, including seven new individuals held in federal agencies at the Otero County Prison Facility. The new cases, announced through the state Department of Health, bring the total to 5,662 cases of the type of coronavirus that causes respiratory illness. The state also announced 11 new deaths related to the virus, which brings the total of deaths to 253. 

There are 223 individuals hospitalized for the virus in the state, an increase of 14. In a press conference on Friday, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said 52 of these patients are on ventilators. This number may include individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 out of state but are currently hospitalized in New Mexico.

Northwest NM continues to outpace the rest of the state for COVID-19 cases

With more than twice as many reported cases of COVID-19 in McKinley County than the more populated Bernalillo County, the state Department of Health announced 107 new test positive cases across the state of COVID-19 Tuesday. There are six new deaths related to the respiratory disease. The numbers released Tuesday brings the state to 4,138 cases of the disease and 162 total deaths related to the virus. There are 964 COVID-19 cases designated as recovered by the state’s DOH. There are 48 patients on ventilators and 178 who have been hospitalized, according to DOH.