Copyright © 2020 Albuquerque Journal
A federal inmate at the Otero County Prison Facility has died, one of five new COVID-19 deaths announced by New Mexico health officials Wednesday.
The inmate, a man in his 50s who had been hospitalized, is the first death of a federal inmate in New Mexico, although two other Otero County prison inmates have died.
The Otero County Processing Center has 30 new cases, bringing its total to 138. The Otero County Prison Facility had eight new cases among inmates held by the state, increasing the total of state inmates with the virus to 306. The facility, meanwhile, has 275 cases among inmates held by federal agencies, though no new cases were announced there Wednesday.
In all, health officials announced 138 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the state’s total number of cases to 10,065.
The four others who died all had underlying health conditions. They were:
• A Bernalillo County woman in her 90s who was a resident of the Village at Alameda facility.
• A Cibola County woman in her 70s who was hospitalized.
• A McKinley County man in his 40s who was hospitalized.
• A Sierra County man in his 70s who was hospitalized.
The five new deaths bring New Mexico’s total to 452.
As for the new infections, Bernalillo and McKinley counties had the highest number, each reporting 20, followed by Doña Ana County at 18 and San Juan County with 13.
Sandoval County had eight new cases, Santa Fe and Lea counties reported six new cases and Curry County had three new cases.
Chaves and Rio Arriba counties reported two new cases, while Valencia and Otero counties each had one new case.
Currently there are 161 individuals hospitalized and 4,351 patients recovered.
