The renewal on Friday of the governor’s COVID-19 emergency executive order will be the last, according to a statement issued Friday by the Governor’s Office.
The order will remain in effect until the end of this month and then will be allowed to expire, the statement said.
New Mexico declared a public health emergency on March 11, 2020, at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“While we’re still seeing COVID cases, our preparedness and collaborative work have helped turn a once-in-a-century public health emergency into a manageable situation,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in the news release. “We are working diligently across state agencies to make sure New Mexicans continue to be supported as federal COVID programs wind down.”
The lapsing of the order signals an end to the expanded legal powers of the governor to suspend laws in response to the once mysterious disease.
According to state data, more than 9,000 deaths have been attributed to COVID-19, and roughly one in three New Mexicans — or about 645,000 people — have tested positive for the virus at least once and made a full recovery.
Among the measures people can continue to take in response to ongoing COVID infections are getting tested and vaccinated, practicing social distancing and masking, and improving indoor ventilation.
New Mexico is one of five states — including Texas and Illinois — that still have such emergency public health declarations.
California’s coronavirus emergency officially ended Feb. 28, nearly three years after Gov. Gavin Newsom issued the nation’s first statewide stay-at-home order.
President Joe Biden announced in January that the federal government will end its own version May 11.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
