Serving the High Plains

Three new coronavirus cases reported in county

The New Mexico Department of Health on Tuesday and Wednesday reported a total of three confirmed cases of coronavirus in Quay County, all in the Tucumcari ZIP code.

The agency did not report its daily numbers Tuesday because of a computer network outage in state government.

Two females and one male were infected in the county. The breakdown by age is one age 10 to 19, one age 30 to 39 and one age 70 to 79.

Quay County continued to see an elevated rate of COVID-19 cases in December, with 40 so far. A total of 140 cases were reported in the county in November.

The total number of cases in the county since the pandemic began rose to 287, with five deaths. A total of 93 people have been deemed by the state as recovered from the virus.

The latest breakdown by ZIP code since the pandemic began is 219 in Tucumcari, 46 in Logan, seven in House, six in San Jon, four in McAlister, two in Nara Visa, two in Bard and one in Grady (part of which extends into the county).

According to the state’s COVID-19 rapid-response database, one confirmed case each was reported at these entities in recent days:

— Quay County Family Health Center, Tucumcari, reported Monday;

— New Mexico Department of Transportation, District 4, Tucumcari, reported Monday;

— Tucumcari Public Schools, reported Tuesday;

— Mesalands Community College, Tucumcari, reported Tuesday;

— City of Tucumcari, reported Tuesday.

A typical rapid response consists of isolating positive cases, quarantining close contacts for 14 days, ceasing operations to the extent necessary to isolate affected areas, disinfecting these areas, implementing safety procedures and resuming operations. Typically, operations are ceased for fewer than 24 hours before it is safe to reopen.

In the state, the DOH reported 1,271 cases Tuesday and 1,759 Wednesday. The total number in New Mexico since the pandemic began rose to nearly 113,000.

A total of 33 deaths were reported Tuesday and 34 on Wednesday in New Mexico, raising the total to 1,823.

A total of 917 people in the state were hospitalized with the disease Wednesday, a slight decrease from Monday.

The Amarillo area reported on Wednesday more than 7,400 active cases of the disease, with a 36% hospitalization rate. The number of active cases has dropped slightly in recent days.

In the U.S., more than 15.2 million confirmed cases of coronavirus have been reported through Wednesday since the pandemic began, with more than 287,000 deaths.