Two more virus deaths reported in Quay

New Mexico health officials reported two more confirmed deaths of COVID-19 in Quay County last week, raising the total to 19 since the pandemic began last spring.

The state Department of Health reported these coronavirus deaths in the county:

• A man in his 60s who had been hospitalized and had underlying conditions;

• A woman in her 90s who had underlying conditions.

The number of deaths in Quay County has more than doubled since late May.

Quay County experienced 17 more confirmed cases of coronavirus last week, including three cases reported Friday.

That compares to the 33 cases recorded in the previous week. It was the second straight week the county’s case numbers had declined.

Almost all of last week’s cases were in the Tucumcari ZIP code.

The county's case total rose to 991 since the pandemic began in spring 2020.

The breakdown of COVID-19 cases by ZIP code in Quay County through Friday was 750 in Tucumcari, 152 in Logan, 44 in San Jon, 12 in House, 10 in McAlister, 10 in Bard, nine in Nara Visa, and five in Grady in the part that extends into the county.

A total of 800 people in the county were deemed by the DOH to have recovered from the virus.

These COVID-19 rapid responses were reported in the county last week:

• Tucumcari Public Schools, one case reported Oct. 12;

• San Jon Middle School, one case reported Oct. 12;

• New Mexico Department of Transportation, District, 4, San Jon, one case reported Oct. 13.

A typical rapid response consists of isolating positive cases, quarantining close contacts, 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, 801 new COVID-19 cases were reported Friday, bringing the overall total to more than 263,000 since the pandemic began.

Eleven COVID-19 deaths were reported in the state Friday, raising the total to 4,930.

A total of 332 people were hospitalized in New Mexico with the disease Friday, a decline of 10 from the previous week.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Friday the state would extend its indoor mask requirement through at least Nov. 12, regardless of vaccination status. COVID-19 case numbers and hospitalizations in New Mexico have remained stubbornly high since early August.

The Department of Health stated in a news release that vaccination continues to be the most effective tool against contracting COVID-19. Those who wish to be vaccinated can go to VaccineNM.org to find locations and sign up for an appointment.

New Mexico residents also can learn whether they are eligible for a COVID-19 booster shot at vaccinenm.org/boosters.

The DOH also recommended that all New Mexicans aged 6 months and older get a flu shot through a local health provider. The department recommended getting the shot by the end of October for best protection.

The Amarillo metro region on Friday totaled 2,363 active cases of the disease, a decrease of nearly 750 from the previous week. The active-case count was about 300 earlier this summer.

The disease has killed 900 people in the Amarillo metro since the pandemic began.

In the U.S., more than 44.9 million people have been confirmed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, with more than 724,000 deaths, through Friday.

According to state data Friday, 48.3% of Quay County residents have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus. That was an increase of 0.1% from the previous week.

About 53.3% of Quay County residents have received one shot of COVID-19 vaccine through Friday, an increase of 0.3% from the previous week.

In New Mexico, 71.6% of eligible residents had been fully vaccinated by Friday, with 81.1% receiving one dose of vaccine.