New Mexico smashes daily record again: 1,082 new COVID-19 cases confirmed

Health officials urge New Mexicans to stay home, avoid gatherings and wear masks

Algernon D'Ammassa
Las Cruces Sun-News

LAS CRUCES - New Mexico once more blew past previous daily records for new cases of COVID-19 disease when it reported 1,082 new positive cases Thursday afternoon. 

State Human Services Department spokeswoman Jodi McGinnis Porter said the high number was not likely attributable to cancellations and delays at COVID-19 testing sites earlier in the week, after snow blanketed cities around the state Tuesday. 

"DOH did experience some technical difficulties with the electronic submission of tests results in the last few days, and that resulted in some cases that might have been included in yesterday's report being included in today's report instead," McGinnis Porter said.  

Keep reading:Doña Ana County is leading New Mexico in a statewide shortage of registered nurses

She continued: "The spread of the virus throughout New Mexico is out of control, and all New Mexicans must recommit to good public health practices and stay home except when travel is necessary for health, safety and welfare."

Nearly half of the new cases were near Albuquerque and Las Cruces. Bernalillo County reported 260 new cases, and Doña Ana County — situated near El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juárez in Mexico — reported 248.

Immediately to Doña Ana County's west, Luna County (encompassing Deming and the border village of Columbus) reported 106 cases. 

Read more:Doña Ana County rapid response watchlist

Lea County, in New Mexico's southeastern corner also bordering Texas, reported 67 new cases Thursday. 

New Mexico also edged closer to the 1,000 milestone in deaths associated with the disease, with three additional deaths bring New Mexico's total to 994. The deceased were identified simply as a male in his 70s from Bernalillo County, a male in his 90s from Grant County and a female in her 20s from Sandoval County.

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Both men had been hospitalized, and all three were described as having underlying medical conditions which can exacerbate the impacts of COVID-19. 

Since the state's first cases were announced on March 11, New Mexico has confirmed 44,904 cases out of a total of 1,153,185 tests. Of the total cases, 21,389 (or 48 percent) have been designated as recovered by the health department. 

Earlier Thursday, state Human Services Secretary David Scrase, a physician, led a video conference with chief medical officers from Presbyterian Healthcare Services and Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center to warn residents that if the accelerated transmission of COVID-19 since Labor Day continues, the state was weeks away from potentially overwhelming its hospitals

On Thursday, 323 individuals were hospitalized with COVID-19 in New Mexico, which reported 80 percent of adult beds and 75 percent of ICU beds were occupied.

According to weekly reporting from Doña Ana County's Joint Information Center, roughly 70 percent of ICU beds were occupied as of Wednesday in the southern New Mexico region consisting of Catron, Doña Ana, Grant, Hidalgo, Lincoln, Luna, Otero, Socorro, Sierra counties. In the same region, 27 out of 75 ventilators were in use. There were 112 positive COVID-19 patients admitted in the region Wednesday. 

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State health officials repeated their standing guidance to residents to stay home as much as possible, wear masks (secured over nose and mouth) whenever out in public, maintaining a minimum of six feet of distance from other people, avoiding social gatherings of more than five, and washing hands frequent

Covid-19 update for Oct. 31

Algernon D'Ammassa can be reached at 575-541-5451, adammassa@lcsun-news.com or @AlgernonWrites on Twitter.

Read more: New Mexico health officials warn 'unsustainable' increase in COVID-19 threatens hospitals