Eighth COVID-19 death reported in county

The New Mexico Department of Health on Friday reported the eighth COVID-19 death in Quay County since the pandemic began.

Eight new confirmed cases of the virus also were reported in the county Friday. After a relative lull in late December, Quay County has recorded 24 cases in January.

The latest death was a woman in her 80s, according to an email from the agency. The DOH does not give the identities of those who have been infected or died from the virus.

Three deaths were reported in the county in November and two in December.

Seven of the new confirmed cases were reported in the Tucumcari ZIP code, and the eighth was from Nara Visa.

Five males and three females tested positive for the virus. The age breakdowns were two up to 10 years of age, one age 20 to 29, one age 30 to 39, one age 40 to 49 and three age 60 to 69.

The total number of confirmed cases in the county since the pandemic began rose to 356, with seven deaths.

The total number of people in the county who have been deemed as recovered from the virus rose to 200 by Friday.

The latest breakdown by ZIP code since the pandemic began is 276 in Tucumcari, 49 in Logan, eight in House, seven in San Jon, six in McAlister, four in Nara Visa, two in Bard and one in Grady (part of the ZIP code extends into the county).

According to the state’s COVID-19 rapid-response database, these confirmed cases were reported in the county:

– Trigg Memorial Hospital, Tucumcari, one case reported Tuesday;

– Everyone’s Federal Credit Union, Tucumcari, one case reported Wednesday;

– Mesalands Community College, Tucumcari, one case reported Thursday;

– Autumn Blessings, Logan, one case reported Thursday.

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 New Mexico, a total of 1,645 new cases of the virus were reported Friday. The state’s seven-day average rose to more than 1,300 – a rise of more than 150 in a week.

The state’s total overall since the pandemic began rose to more than 153,000.

A total of 30 deaths were reported in the state Friday, raising the toll to 2,710.

A total of 703 people in New Mexico were reported hospitalized with COVID-19 on Friday, a number that has been mostly stable in recent days.

In Amarillo, more than 3,100 active cases of COVID-19 were reported Friday, with a 22.3% hospitalization rate. Both numbers have been steady in recent days.

In the U.S., more than 21.8 million people have been confirmed with the disease through Friday, with more than 368,000 deaths.