Curry, Roosevelt report virus deaths

Curry County on Tuesday reported its second coronavirus-related death in two days, while Roosevelt County, also Tuesday, reported its second virus-related death since the pandemic began.

The three deaths were among 17 reported Monday and Tuesday, pushing the state's total number of fatalities to 787.

The victims, as reported by the state, were:

• A Curry County man in his 50s reported Monday, hospitalized with underlying conditions.

• A Curry County woman in her 70s reported Tuesday, with underlying conditions.

• A Roosevelt County woman in her 80s reported Wednesday, with underlying conditions.

Neither Plains Regional Medical Center in Clovis nor Roosevelt General Hospital reported a COVID-19 death at the facility recently. The Clovis hospital reported having three COVID-19 patients in the last seven days and the Portales hospital reporting none.

Also, Wheatfields Senior Living told The News it has had three positive COVID-19 tests, two staff members and one resident, with its last positive case reported Aug. 21. Josh Bailey, communications director for parent company Seasons Living, said testing for the week of Aug. 23 resulted in all negative tests and the facility anticipates the same during its next round of testing.

Testing across the state detected 73 new infections Monday and 110 on Tuesday.

Through Tuesday, the state had averaged 5.3 deaths a day over the last week, well below the peak of 10.3 deaths a day in mid-May.

The number of new cases is also down. New Mexico's seven-day rolling average now stands at 136 new cases a day.

Curry County has recorded at least one new coronavirus case for 82 consecutive days, but last week it averaged just 4.7 new cases per day. The county averaged 9.3 cases per day in July and 6.9 per day in August.

Overall, New Mexico has seen 25,460 people test positive for coronavirus with 13,073 designated as recovered.

As of Tuesday, Curry County had 338 active cases while Roosevelt County had 100 active cases, according to the New Mexico Department of Health.

The Albuquerque Journal contributed to this report.