Quay County's COVID cases fall to two

Quay County’s number of confirmed coronavirus cases fell to just two last week, and New Mexico’s governor rescinded six executive orders related to the pandemic but not the public health emergency order.

COVID-19 cases totaled seven and 10 during the previous two weeks, according to the New Mexico Department of Health.

The COVID Act Now website maintained Quay County’s risk rating for community spread at “low.” Quay County’s rate of new cases fell to 48.5 cases per 100,000 people last week, compared to 121.2 cases the previous week.

The total number of coronavirus cases in Quay County since the pandemic began in spring 2020 rose to 2,374.

The breakdown of total COVID-19 cases by ZIP code in Quay County through Friday was 1,822 in Tucumcari, 334 in Logan, 110 in San Jon, 41 in House, 27 in McAlister, 20 in Nara Visa and 19 in Bard.

The new cases last week were reported in the Tucumcari and Logan ZIP codes.

No confirmed COVID-19 deaths in Quay County was reported last week, keeping the death toll at 68 since the pandemic began more than two years ago.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s rescinded executive orders regarding eligibility for booster shots, testing, quarantine periods and state inmates.

The public emergency health order remains in place more than two years after it was issued. A governor’s spokeswoman told the Albuquerque Journal the order remains in place to give the state access to federal funds for public health programs, food aid and more.

A total of 291 new cases of coronavirus were reported Friday in New Mexico. That raised the total since the pandemic began to more than 619,000.

New Mexico’s seven-day daily case rate had declined to 215 by Friday. The rate was 226 during the previous week.

After all of New Mexico’s counties were at low risk for the disease’s spread last week, case or hospitalization counts began rising in a few areas. Grant, Hidalgo and Rio Arriba counties saw their community risk levels rise to medium or high.

A total of 100 people were hospitalized in New Mexico with the disease Friday, an increase of two from the previous week. Even with two straight weeks of increases, the state has seen far fewer hospitalizations during the latest variant of the virus.

A total of three COVID-19 deaths were reported in the state Friday, raising the pandemic’s overall total to 8,569.

In the Amarillo metro region, the total number of active cases on Friday continued to fall. The total that day was 897, compared to 1,204 a week ago.

The disease has killed 1,308 people in the Amarillo metro since the pandemic began more than two years ago.

In the U.S., about 96.2 million COVID-19 cases have been confirmed since the pandemic began, with more than 1.06 million deaths, on 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 Quay County Public Health Office in Tucumcari is offering the Omicron-related booster shots Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., including to walk-ins.

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 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.