Governor to announce extension of school closings Friday

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday will announce an extension of the closings of all public schools in the state because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a post Thursday on Twitter from the state's Department of Public Education.

“The final determination of the extent of the closure period will be made this evening after reviewing extensive cross-Agency plans,” the PED's tweet stated.

New Mexico's public schools previously had been scheduled to be shuttered from March 16 through April 3 in an effort to slow the virus' spread and keep hospital and health systems from being overwhelmed.

However, Lujan Grisham said during a news conference Monday an extension of the closure was likely.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in New Mexico was 112 with one death as of mid-afternoon Monday. In the U.S., the number was more than 80,000 confirmed cases and more than 1,100 deaths.