COVID-19 leads to 4 deaths, remote classes

A new surge of COVID-19 cases last week in Quay County prompted three educational institutions to go to remote learning or delay classes. Four confirmed deaths from the virus also were reported.

According to the New Mexico Department of Health, the latest deaths in the county were:

• A woman in her 80s who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions.

• A woman in her 100s who was a resident of the Autumn Blessings assisted living facility in Logan.

• A man in his 60s who was hospitalized.

• A man in his 70s who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions.

The total number of deaths since the pandemic began in spring 2020 rose to 35. More than three-quarters of the county's deaths have occurred since late May.

A total of 104 confirmed cases of the virus were reported in Quay County last week, the highest level since another surge in early December. That compared to just 45 cases the previous week.

The total number of cases in the county rose to 1,726 since the pandemic began in spring 2020.

Renee Hayoz, administrator of the Quay County Family Health Center in Tucumcari, said Thursday that Presbyterian Medical Services reported 96% to 98% of new cases of the disease in New Mexico were of the highly contagious Omicron variant.

The state was seeing record or near-record numbers of cases last week and averaged over 4,000 cases daily.

San Jon Municipal Schools went to all-remote learning Jan. 11 after a rise in COVID-19 cases, according to a message posted on the district's Facebook page. In-person classes were scheduled to resume this week.

According to DOH data, 17 confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported in the San Jon ZIP code last week.

San Jon also postponed last week's district boys and girls basketball games against Logan and Melrose.

House Municipal Schools also announced it would go the remote learning this week, partly due to the virus.

"We are going remote for this week due to 3 to Jan. 9, nearly double from the previous week.

Neighboring De Baca and Guadalupe counties also saw large caseloads last week. Hidalgo County in the state's bootheel saw the worst case rate, with 255.9 per 100,000 people.

The breakdown of COVID-19 cases by ZIP code in Quay County through Friday was 1,305 in Tucumcari, 265 in Logan, 85 in San Jon, 22 in House, 17 in McAlister, 17 in Bard and 12 in Nara Visa.

A total of 1,466 people in the county were deemed by the DOH to have recovered from the virus.

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

• Mesalands Community College, one case reported Jan. 7 and one case reported Jan. 13;

• Tucumcari Public Schools, three cases reported Jan. 11 and two cases reported Jan. 12;

• San Jon Public Schools, two cases reported Jan. 11 and one case reported Jan. 13;

• San Jon Middle School, two cases reported Jan. 11;

• Love's Travel Stop, Tucumcari, one case reported Jan. 11;

• Plateau, Logan, one case reported Jan. 11;

• Eastern Plains CAA, Tucumcari, two cases reported Jan. 12;

• Income Support Division, Tucumcari, two cases reported Jan. 12;

• Turquoise Child Development Center, Tucumcari, one case reported Jan. 12;

• Denny's, Tucumcari, one case reported Jan. 12;

• New Mexico Department of Transportation, McAlister, one case reported Jan. 13:

• EPCAA Early Head Start, Tucumcari, one case reported Jan. 13;

• La Quinta Inn, Tucumcari, one case reported Jan. 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.

Other numbers

Thirty-six COVID-19 deaths were reported in the state Friday, raising the total to 6,145.

A total of 586 people were hospitalized in New Mexico with the disease Friday, an increase of 47 from the previous week.

The Amarillo metro region on Friday totaled more than 6,900 active cases of the disease, a jump of more than 2,200 from the previous week. The active-case count in the metro was about 300 last summer.

The metro area's hospitalization rate reached 21.7%, the highest level in months.

The disease has killed 1,035 people in the Amarillo metro since the pandemic began.

In the U.S., more than 64.8 million people have been confirmed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, with more than 849,000 deaths, on Friday.

Vaccinations

The Quay County Family Health Center held another mass-vaccination event Thursday at the county fairgrounds.

Hayoz, the clinic's administrator, said 155 people received a primary, secondary or booster shot of the vaccine. More than 200 people were vaccinated during a previous event last month.

The clinic also gave away about 150 boxes of home COVID-19 test kits at the event. Hayoz said the clinic is keeping about 150 more and might not get more from Presbyterian Medical Services for a while, saying such kits are "probably scarce."

"They are very difficult to find," she said.

A mobile vaccine unit will make an appearance at Mesalands Community College from Feb. 8 to Feb. 13 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. It will offer both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for individuals age 12 and up and Pfizer vaccines for children age 5 to 11. Walk-in patients will be welcome, with no identification and no insurance necessary.

According to state data through Friday, 51.7% of Quay County residents have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus. That was an increase of 0.1% from the previous week.

About 58.7% of county residents have received one shot of COVID-19 vaccine through Friday, an increase of 0.1% from the previous week.

In New Mexico, 76.3% of eligible residents had been fully vaccinated by Friday, with 89.6% receiving at least one dose of vaccine.

Residents can schedule vaccinations through the state's registration portal at VaccineNM.org. Parents can sign up children over age 5 for vaccinations at the state's portal at vaccineNM.org/kids or their health provider.

The Department of Health's vaccination helpline is available at 855-600-3453, option 3.

New Mexico residents age 18 and over may now schedule a booster shot if:

n They received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine more than two months ago, or;

n They completed the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine series more than six months ago.

From Dec. 13 to Jan. 10, more than 92% of the COVID-19 deaths in New Mexico occurred among the unvaccinated.