Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Three more confirmed coronavirus cases – all in the Tucumcari ZIP code – were reported Thursday by the New Mexico Department of Health amid another record-breaking day in the state.
Quay County also failed to meet the criteria for to expand school reopenings, but it had plenty of company. All but three counties in New Mexico missed at least one of the criteria.
The latest cases in Quay County, according to the DOH database, were two females and one male. The age breakdowns were one age 10 to 19, one age 20 to 29 and one age 30 to 39.
The total number of cases in the county since the pandemic began rose to 140, with two deaths. Thirty-three cases in the county have been reported in November alone.
The breakdown by ZIP code is 92 in Tucumcari, 36 in Logan, five in San Jon, three in House, three in McAlister and one in Grady (part of which extends into the county).
The state also gave its latest evaluations for counties on additional school reopenings. Quay County remained in the red zone with a COVID-19 daily rate of 28.9 cases per 100,000 people and a test-positivity rate of 12.5% for the period from Oct. 27 to Nov. 9. Both were well above the benchmarks of 8 cases per 100,000 and a 5% positivity rate.
One three counties in the state – Catron, Harding and Mora – landed in the coveted green zone. All other counties flunked at least one of the criteria.
In the state, the DOH on Thursday reported a new high in daily cases with 1,753 – breaking the old mark by more than 250. The total number since the pandemic began surpassed 60,000.
A total of 611 cases were reported in Bernalillo County, with 312 in Dona Ana County.
Eighteen deaths were reported in the state Thursday, hiking the overall total to 1,176.
Hospitalizations from COVID-19 stood at 471 on Thursday, slightly below the previous day. The DOH did not have hospitalization or intensive care percentages.
In Amarillo, the metro area on Thursday hit another record high with more than 6,100 active cases of the disease, with a hospitalization rate of over 31%.
In the U.S., more than 10.5 million confirmed cases of coronavirus have been reported through Thursday since the pandemic began, with more than 242,000 deaths.