Serving the High Plains

New cases rise; county still at medium risk

Quay County’s numbers of new coronavirus cases rose somewhat last week, and a website that tracks community risk of the disease’s spread kept the region at “medium” risk.

COVID-19 cases totaled 19 last week, compared to 14 last week and 15 in each of the previous two weeks as reported by the New Mexico Department of Health.

According to COVID Act Now website Saturday, Quay County’s rate dropped slightly to 218.1 cases per 100,000 people last week, compared to 230 the previous week.

Meanwhile, all the surrounding counties were in low risk of community spread of COVID-19 except for De Baca, which was at medium risk and had the worst case rate in the state. Much of New Mexico had improved into the low-risk category.

The total number of coronavirus cases in Quay County since the pandemic began in spring 2020 rose to 2,355.

The breakdown of total COVID-19 cases by ZIP code in Quay County through Friday was 1,805 in Tucumcari, 333 in Logan, 110 in San Jon, 41 in House, 26 in McAlister, 20 in Nara Visa and 19 in Bard.

New cases last week were reported in the ZIP codes of Tucumcari, Logan, San Jon, McAlister and Bard.

No confirmed COVID-19 deaths in Quay County were reported last week, keeping the death toll at 67 since the pandemic began more than two years ago.

A total of 305 new cases of coronavirus were reported Friday in New Mexico. That raised the total since the pandemic began to more than 614,000.

New Mexico’s seven-day daily case rate had declined to 250 by Friday. The rate was 420 the previous week.

A total of 111 people were hospitalized in New Mexico with the disease Friday, a decline of 13 from the previous week. The state has been seeing far fewer hospitalizations during the latest surge of the disease.

A total of four COVID-19 deaths were reported in the state Friday, raising the pandemic’s overall total to 8,483.

In the Amarillo metro region, the total number of active cases on Friday continued to show a slow decline. That total that day was 1,627, compared to 1,824 a week ago.

The disease has killed 1,305 people in the Amarillo metro since the pandemic began more than two years ago.

In the U.S., about 95 million COVID-19 cases have been confirmed since the pandemic began, with more than 1.05 million deaths, through Saturday.

The New Mexico Department of Health’s vaccination helpline is available at 855-600-3453, option 3, or by going to vaccinenm.org.

The Department of Health recommends COVID-19 drugs for those who have contracted the disease in its early stages and are at high risk for serious illness. These drugs are highly effective at preventing hospitalization and death but must be taken within days of the first symptom. More information on finding these treatments can be found at FindATreatmentNM.com.