Copyright © 2020 Albuquerque Journal
New Mexico recorded 1,442 new COVID cases and 27 additional deaths from the virus Saturday as first responders and medical professionals continue to be vaccinated against the disease across the state.
Saturday’s tally brings the rolling average of cases to 1,513 a day, a number that has decreased steadily since hitting a record high of 2,672 cases a day on Nov. 23.
Meanwhile, the rolling average of deaths has remained at a near-record high of more than 34 reported daily.
Nora Meyers Sackett, a Governor’s Office spokeswoman, said Saturday afternoon that seven of the people whose deaths were reported Saturday were from Bernalillo County and that all but nine of the 27 who died had underlying conditions.
She said the deceased ranged in age from their 30s to their 100s and included a man in his 70s who was an inmate at the state prison in Los Lunas. Sixteen inmates of New Mexico prisons have died of the virus, and 12 are now hospitalized.
New Mexico has recorded 2,155 deaths since the pandemic hit in March.
Sackett said Bernalillo County had 449 new cases. San Juan County had the next-highest number, 175.
She said 891 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 across the state. That number may include those who tested positive for COVID-19 out of state but are hospitalized in New Mexico, she said.
The state has had 128,930 cases of COVID-19, and of those, 53,278 have been designated as having recovered by the New Mexico Department of Health.
On Saturday, Albuquerque Fire Rescue tweeted that firefighters received their first round of COVID vaccinations.
AFR spokesman Tom Ruiz said 42 firefighters have been vaccinated.
“We would like to thank of all of our firefighters for their dedication to serving our community during the pandemic, as well as the (New Mexico Department of Health),” the tweet said.
