Mask Mandate

New Mexico is one of just five states that has kept its COVID-19 public health emergency order in effect. It was set to expire Friday but the governor announced it will stay in place for the rest of the month — the last of 41 extensions since March, 2020.

Seven New Mexico counties, including McKinley and San Miguel, have Medium community levels of COVID19 according to the latest CDC data. But when the metric is COVID transmission alone without considering hospitalizations, that green and yellow map turns an alarming red and orange. Nationally, health officials warn that colder months could bring a surge in cases as people gather indoors. But Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said mandatory measures are not going to happen.

An understaffed Department of Health provided its last media COVID-19 briefing on June 8th. Since then, 100 more New Mexicans have died from the disease, over 2000 since January. In sharp contrast, DOH shows nearly one-tenth (197) as many Pneumonia and Flu deaths combined from October 1, 2021 to May 15, 2022.

As the second holiday weekend in two weeks arrives, New Mexicans face fresh challenges calculating COVID-19 risk. By CDC standards, New Mexico has a surge of cases higher than last summer, without a mask mandate, managed by an understaffed Department of Health that provides irregular updates as hospitalizations and deaths increase.

At-risk musician and advocate discuss COVID-19 risk policy

Austin Fisher discusses his reporting on the 2/23/22 NMDOH COVID19 update.

Organizers of Albuquerque's international balloon fiesta are seeking a waiver from federal aviation officials, saying a requirement that aircraft have specific tracking technology could affect the annual event.

Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham expressed optimism Wednesday that legislators will embrace her proposals for tax cuts with a little over a week left in the annual regular legislative session, coupled with disbelief that Democratic legislators are hesitating to back major crime-fighting initiatives.

UNM this week told students and employees at all campuses to up their mask game for the start of the Spring semester because of spiking infection numbers and the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant of COVID-19. The two-ply cloth masks that had become the norm are proving insufficient to protect from omicron.

The former chief financial officer for the New Mexico Spaceport Authority filed a whistleblower lawsuit alleging that he was forced to resign after raising concerns about financial malfeasance that he said cost taxpayers millions of dollars.