MARCH 11: N.M. confirms 4 positive tests for coronavirus; governor declares emergency
MARCH 12: Schools closed for 3 weeks beginning March 16; large public gatherings banned; Archdiocese of Santa Fe halts church services
MARCH 13: President declares pandemic national emergency; coronavirus testing underway in N.M.
MARCH 14: Nursing home visitors restricted
MARCH 15: Restaurants and bars limited to 50% capacity
MARCH 18: DOH asks those traveling into New Mexico from outside the state to self-isolate for 14 days
MARCH 19: Restaurants, bars closed to in-person dining; theaters, indoor malls, gyms, resort spas closed
MARCH 23: Governor issues “stay at home” order; “nonessential” businesses statewide ordered to close; public urged to avoid all nonessential travel
MARCH 25: N.M. announces 1st coronavirus death — an Eddy County man
MARCH 26: MDC releases medically at-risk inmates
MARCH 27: Schools ordered to remain closed for rest of school year; districts move to remote learning
MARCH 30: 39-year-old inmate at MDC tests positive for virus, first known case in a N.M. correctional facility
APRIL 2: State urges residents to wear masks in public
APRIL 3: Outbreak at La Vida Llena leaves 2 dead, 20 more infected
APRIL 4: Navajo Nation grapples with skyrocketing COVID-19 infections; per capita rate of infections more than 7 times higher than N.M.
APRIL 6: Governor extends emergency order to May 1; liquor stores, payday lenders now also must close; car dealers required to close sales rooms, lots
APRIL 10: Worldwide virus deaths pass 100,000; in N.M., confirmed cases surge above 1,000 mark with confirmed cases in 26 of state’s 33 counties
APRIL 13: GOP pushes to reopen businesses, a refrain echoed through the coming months
APRIL 27: N.M. pushes past 100-death milestone, recording a total of 104 deaths
MAY 1: Nonessential businesses can resume sales with curbside pickup and delivery; golf courses, state parks can open, with limits; governor orders lockdown for Gallup
MAY 3: N.M. announces 12 deaths, setting single-day record for state
MAY 6: N.M. requires masks for restaurant, grocery workers
MAY 11: State announces that all New Mexicans can now get free virus testing
MAY 16: Retailers throughout most of state and houses of worship can operate at 25% capacity; people in public spaces required to wear masks
MAY 27: Restaurants can open patio dining
JUNE 1: Restaurants, gyms, salons and malls allowed to reopen at partial capacity
JUNE 2: 116 new COVID-19 cases at Otero County Prison, bringing total at facility to 162
JUNE 22: Lawmakers wrap up unprecedented special session in Roundhouse, which focused on budget adjustments and approving financial aid to businesses and local governments; the Roundhouse is closed to the public
JUNE 24: Staggering number of cases reported at Otero prison: 426 in state system, 275 in federal prison facility and 146 at federal processing center
JULY 1: N.M. virus deaths hit 500
JULY 8: COVID-19 spike triggers more testing and hourslong lines at testing sites
JULY 9: State officials announce that high school football and other fall contact sports will be called off
JULY 13: Governor tightens mask mandate, requiring that they be worn outside of the home for almost all activities, including exercise; indoor dining at restaurants banned; tougher limits on gyms
JULY 21: Governor urges UNM, NMSU to cancel fall sports due to escalating danger from coronavirus
JULY 23: Schools limited to online learning until at least after Labor Day
JULY 24: More than 300 COVID-19 cases reported in jails across state
JULY 30: N.M. extends restrictions another month
AUG. 4: Supreme Court rules fines to enforce health orders are legal, one of several legal victories concerning state’s handling of pandemic
AUG. 29: Restaurants can reopen at 25% capacity; other restrictions eased
SEPT. 4: Travel quarantine order eased; hotels can operate at 75% maximum occupancy
SEPT. 8: Some schools allowed to reopen under hybrid model
SEPT. 9: N.M. rolling average of new coronavirus cases hits lowest point since April
SEPT. 11: 60% of N.M. voters approve of governor’s response to pandemic in Journal poll; 55% disapprove of president’s handling
SEPT. 18: N.M. eases some restrictions on youth activities
SEPT. 22: U.S. COVID death toll passes 200,000; state notes growth in virus spread in N.M.
OCT. 1: Governor pleads with New Mexicans to wear masks, avoid gatherings of more than 10 as hospitalizations climb 30%
OCT. 6: COVID-19 cases spike at MDC
OCT. 8: Governor warns state is at risk of “uncontrollable” virus spread; remaining fall sports postponed until 2021
OCT. 13: Explosion in virus cases prompts governor to tighten restrictions, including prohibition of gatherings of more than five people
OCT. 16: Virus surge claims youngest victim, an 18-year-old Eddy County woman; at MDC, 307 inmates and 43 staffers have COVID
OCT. 20: Record-breaking virus cases prompt governor to announce more stringent requirements, including closing retail and some other businesses by 10 p.m.
OCT. 22: Archdiocese of Santa Fe announces that it will once again halt in-person church services
OCT. 29: State reports 1,082 new infections, another record high
OCT. 30: State surpasses 1,000 COVID deaths
