COVID-19 Cases Rise To 2,521 Cases With Six Additional Deaths – KUNM, Albuquerque Journal
The number of positive COVID-19 cases jumped by 153 Friday to 2,521 in New Mexico with an additional six deaths, bringing the total to 84.
Five of those six deaths were among people from congregate living facilities -- Cedar Ridge Inn in Farmington and Uptown Genesis in Albuquerque. There are 12 such facilities in the state where the Department of Health has identified positive COVID-19 cases in residents and/or staff
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said during a live briefing Friday that there are 152 people hospitalized and 38 are currently on ventilators.
Workforce Solutions Secretary Bill McCamley apologized during the briefing for the difficulties many New Mexicans have encountered in filing for unemployment benefits. The number of people receiving unemployment benefits has swelled to nearly 80,000, according to the Albuquerque Journal.
McCamley said his agency added 145 staff to its call center and expanded the hours from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
A state relief fund created to meet the increased demand for food assistance from people who are unemployed during the pandemic awarded $550,000 in grants to five food banks around the state.
ADL Condemns New Mexico Mayor's 'Nazi' Remark About Governor – Associated Press
The Anti-Defamation League is denouncing comments made by a New Mexico mayor who compared New Mexico State Police to the Gestapo and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to the Nazis.
The Anti-Defamation League Mountain States Region said Friday it condemns comments made by Grants, New Mexico, Mayor Martin "Modey" Hicks to The Associated Press. In an interview Thursday, Hicks, a Democrat, compared the Democratic governor to the Nazis over her closures of nonessential business to stop the spread of COVID-19.
ADL Mountain States Regional Director Scott Levin says mayor's frustration is no excuse for comparing public health orders with the actions of the Nazis. Hicks didn't immediately return a phone message.
Native American Leader Discourages Reopenings In New Mexico – Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press
The Native American community at Acoma Pueblo is pushing back against plans by the mayor of a nearby city to allow the reopening of nonessential businesses in defiance of a statewide health order.
Pueblo Gov. Brian Vallo on Friday urged the governor of New Mexico to take any measures necessary to prevent the reopenings in Grants before the state social distancing order expires.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has indicated that she will extend the order until at least May 15. Meanwhile, New Mexico health officials said six more people have died of COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 84. The state has reported more than 2,500 virus cases.
The Navajo Nation continues to grapple with surging COVID-19 infections and fatalities, even as authorities there enforce curfews and federal and state officials mount efforts to deliver aid.
New Mexico Mayors Sign Letter Urging State To End Shutdown – Associated Press
The New Mexico Business Coalition has sent a letter signed by 19 mayors to the governor pleading for an end to the order that closed nonessential businesses statewide to prevent the the coronavirus from spreading.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reported that Grants Mayor Martin "Modey" Hicks encouraged small businesses to reopen Monday and has implored fellow mayors to do the same.
The letter to Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham questions the state's death projection and cites unprecedented unemployment numbers and pending bankruptcies.
The mayors of Carlsbad, Estancia, Hatch, Red River, Melrose, Tatum, Magdalena, Eunice, Roswell and Portales signed the New Mexico Business Coalition letter, along with a handful of other small town and village mayors.
Lujan Grishman spokeswoman Nora Meyers Sackett says elected officials trying to disregard public health orders put communities' health at risk.
As of Friday, New Mexico had 84 deaths from the outbreak and 2,521 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
About One Fifth Of Residents Have Not Received Census Forms – Santa Fe New Mexican
The rural nature of New Mexico is resulting in a delay in some people getting forms for the 2020 census.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that nearly 18% of households in the state do not have standard mailing addresses and the Census Bureau does not send forms to post office boxes. Forms must be hand-delivered to those addresses.
The Census Bureau has suspended door-to-door operations because of the coronavirus pandemic until June. For some counties like Mora, Catron and Rio Arriba that leaves out nearly the entire population.
Nearly 52% of households in the U.S. have responded to the census but that number is only 41% in New Mexico.
Residents can fill out a census form online and describe the location of their residence, but state demographer Robert Rhatigan said it’s better to wait for the form because it has an identification number that can be tied to the residence’s location.
GOP US House Hopefuls Release Mocking Ads In New Mexico Race - By Russell Contreras, Associated Press
Two Republican candidates in a crucial U.S. House race in southern New Mexico have released dueling ads disparaging the other for being a fake supporter of President Donald Trump.
Oil executive Claire Chase and former lawmaker Yvette Herrell unveiled this week the television commercials with more than a month to go before the June 2 primary. The Chase campaign calls Herrell a "career politician" who worked to undermine Trump's campaign in 2016.
Herrell responded by releasing two videos — one attacking Chase over old anti-Trump Facebook posts and another seeking to highlight Herrell's connection to the tea party. Chase and Herrell are vying to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Xochitl Torres Small.
New Mexico University Gets Grant To Tackle Opioid Epidemic – Associated Press
New Mexico State University has received a $200,000 federal grant to grow the number of nurse practitioners who will fight the opioid epidemic in the state.
The university said Thursday its School of Nursing will use the money to fund a project aimed at expanding the number of family nurse practitioners in New Mexico.
The grant will provide funding for the NMSU School of Nursing faculty members in the Family Nurse Practitioner program to develop a curriculum that emphasizes integrated mental health and primary care.
The program is delivered in a distance-education format, allowing nurses throughout New Mexico and the adjacent border region to earn degrees without relocating.
In 2018, New Mexico reported a rate of 26.6 deaths per 100,000 people due to drug overdose, higher than the overall U.S. rate of 20.7, according to the New Mexico Department of Health.
Navajo Nation Now Has 1,360 Coronavirus Cases And 52 Deaths – Associated Press
The Navajo Department of Health said Thursday that the tribe now has 1,360 positive COVID-19 cases and 52 known deaths.
Of those who have tested positive, health officials say 718 are woman and 642 are men with an average age of 48.
Those figures don’t include cases in towns that border the vast reservation and previously were included in the total for the Navajo Nation, which covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
The tribe is extending the closure of the tribal government until mid-May because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Tribal officials have also instituted daily nighttime curfews and weekend lockdowns to keep people from traveling on the reservation and mandated that all individuals on the Navajo Nation must wear face masks.
New Mexico Mayor Vows To Reopen City Despite Lockdown Order - By Russell Contreras, Associated Press
The mayor of the of Grants has announced that he will allow small businesses to reopen in defiance of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's order that's keeping nonessential businesses closed.
Mayor Martin Hicks said Thursday he will allow the businesses to open their doors on Monday. He also says he'll use the city's police force to prevent State Police officers from issuing lockdown violation citations.
Lujan Grisham last month ordered nonessential businesses to close to stop the spread of COVID-19. New Mexico reported 169 additional COVID-19 cases Thursday. The state now has 2,379 cases and 78 people have died.
Hicks made the announcement after 81 businesses in Grants signed a petition calling for the reopening of the city that sits on historic Route 66, about an hour west of Albuquerque.
The governor announced Wednesday that she's putting together a bipartisan group of mayors who will work with her office on plans to reopen businesses across the state.
She said she would extend the public health order to May 15.
Hicks is a Democrat but compared the Democratic governor to the Nazis, saying he and business owners would “stop Lujan Grisham and her Gestapo.”
State To Reopen Medical Center To Treat COVID-19 Patients – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press, KUNM
The New Mexico Department of Health said a hospital within the grounds of Gibson Medical Center that was shuttered in 2007 is expected to reopen after the Albuquerque building was quickly retrofitted to treat patients with COVID-19.
The Albuquerque Journal reported that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed over the building to the state health department last weekend, making as many as 200 beds available.
State officials announced Thursday there were 169 additional positive cases of COVID-19, 105 of which were in McKinley and San Juan counties in northwest New Mexico. That state now has 2,379 cases.
There were also seven additional deaths, including a resident from the Life Care Center in Farmington. There are now 12 congregate living facilities with positive COVID-19 cases in residents and/or staff.
There are 123 people hospitalized and 78 people have died. The Albuquerque Journal reported Native Americans make up 44% of cases, even though they are only 11% of the state’s population.
Self-Employed Can File For Unemployment Benefits – Santa Fe New Mexican
Starting Sunday, people who are self-employed and out of work because of the COVID-19 pandemic can file for unemployment benefits with the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports federal legislation created a new federal benefit under the CARES Act for those who previously could not access unemployment. But it has taken some time for New Mexico and other states to build the systems for processing the claims.
Workforce Solutions officials said applicants first have to file an unemployment claim to determine if they would covered by the traditional unemployment insurance program. But if they are ineligible they can file for benefits online under this new program.