Copyright © 2020 Albuquerque Journal
The state continues to see a slight decrease in new COVID-19 cases each day even as positivity rates hit their highest levels and hospital beds dwindle.
Officials announced 1,873 new cases of COVID-19 and 23 additional deaths from the virus in an update Wednesday afternoon.
The rolling seven-day average has dropped to 2,524 cases a day, but the death toll remains at an average of around 23 people a day.
Nora Meyers Sackett, a Governor’s Office spokeswoman, said all but six of the 23 people whose death was reported Wednesday had underlying conditions. The majority were from Doña Ana and San Juan counties.
The new deaths include a woman in her 20s from Doña Ana County and a man in his 30s from San Juan County. Most of those who died ranged in age from their 50s to their 90s.
Sackett said the counties with the most new cases were in Bernalillo, Doña Ana and Sandoval counties, with 576, 223 and 130, respectively.
Among the troubling statistics state officials are monitoring is the 19.5% positivity rate in the most recent seven-day period reported by the state, through Sunday. That percentage has more than doubled since Oct. 31.
Sackett said 897 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in New Mexico.
Meanwhile, the state reported 326 occupied intensive care beds in its seven hub hospitals Wednesday, the most occupied beds since at least May 1, as far back as the public reports go.
A two-week shutdown order that restricts in-person business activity and instructs New Mexicans to stay home is set to expire Monday, though it may be extended or relaxed after that.
The state has now seen 88,102 cases since March and, of those, 30,170 have been designated as having recovered by the New Mexico Department of Health.
Journal staff writer Dan McKay contributed to this report.
