SANTA FE — The growth in new coronavirus infections accelerated Friday as New Mexico health officials reported 225 new cases and four additional deaths.
All four deaths were adults in McKinley County with underlying health conditions, including a woman in her 20s. The others were in their 50s, 60s and 70s.
The 225 new cases reported Friday are the third-highest single-day total in New Mexico since the outbreak surfaced March 11. The only two bigger days were June 5 — when 330 positive tests came in, driven partly by an outbreak among inmates — and April 29, when the state had 239 new infections.
McKinley County — in the western part of the state, where the Navajo Nation has been hit particularly hard — reported 74 new cases Friday. Bernalillo County, home to Albuquerque, had 50 new cases and Doña Ana County had 36.
The statewide death toll now stands at 489 residents.
The declining number of virus patients hospitalized, however, remains a bright spot — with just 128 people in the hospital Friday, down 13% from a week ago.
