Governor reports record high in deaths

Governor Lujan-Grisham's weekly COVID-19 update began with a grim milestone for the state. She reported that a total of 48 New Mexicans passed away on Thursday, a record high that brought total deaths to 2,097.

“I am very concerned,” Lujan Grisham said, “that 48 may not be the highest number we see in the next several weeks.”

Also high were hospitalizations, with 852 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 on Thursday and 162 on ventilators. The state, Lujan Grisham said, took 234 days to reach 1,000 deaths, but only another 48 days to pass the 2,000 mark.

Thursday’s report included 1,702 cases, including 31 in Curry County and 29 in Roosevelt County. None of the record 48 deaths were from either county.

Friday saw 1,463 new cases, with 29 in Curry County and 20 in Roosevelt County. Among the 31 deaths reported were a Curry County woman in her 40s and a Roosevelt County man in his 70s. Both were hospitalized and had underlying conditions.

Lujan-Grisham did note that a small glimmer of hope was being seen in a decrease of new cases. While all 33 counties in the state are still in the red criteria for daily case rates and test positivity, she said that “the overall majority of counties are showing improvement.”

There are 27 counties that have improved in one or both health metrics, 23 that have improved in both. Curry and Roosevelt County were both reported to have improved daily case rates and improved test positivity rates.

Nine counties in the state are at or below 10% test positivity, bringing them close to the 5% threshold required for moving to “Yellow.” Grant County at 5.6%, San Miguel County at 6.6%, and Los Alamos County at 6.9% are the three closest to making the change. Cibola County and Taos County were also recognized for having cut their positivity rate and daily case rate by more than 50% in the last two weeks.

“The vast majority of the state is moving collectively and comprehensibly together, not just to get to yellow but in fact to get to green. These are the kinds of productive signs we were frankly hoping for,” Lujan-Grisham said.

An update was given on the pandemic relief that the state legislature approved at a special session last month. The $1,200 one-time unemployment aid has been distributed to almost 120,000 New Mexicans so far with more on the way. The state has received 12,000 applications for the $100 million in small business grants, some applications have already been approved and funds were sent out last week but the process will continue this week.

The $5 million for food bank assistance has been distributed to facilities throughout the state. Payments for the $7 million in low-income assistance are scheduled to go through this week, and half of the $15 million for emergency housing support has been distributed but the rest will continue into this week.

Tracie Collins, New Mexico Department of Health Secretary Designate, gave the vaccine update. The first shipment of 17,550 doses from Pfizer were distributed this week to hospitals state-wide as well as three pueblos. They are expecting another shipment from Pfizer early this week, which will continue to go to frontline healthcare workers. She added that NM is preparing to receive doses of the Moderna vaccine upon FDA approval.

Human Services Secretary David Scrase gave his update on the virus noting that they are seeing a decline in the curve for the seven day average of positive cases. However, hospitals across the state are reporting that they are at 120% capacity. The data for COVID-19 patients seeking hospital care is steady and slightly decreasing. This is not necessarily hospitalizations, Scrase said, but rather those who visit the emergency room for care and do not stay.

Hospitalizations are remaining high, with December averaging close to 100 patients being hospitalized daily. Scrase noted that the concerning data is that around 20% of patients are on ventilators, which is where hospitals may become strained on resources.

He also went over how New Mexico has been treating COVID-19 in hospitals. Remdesivir, which is given by IV, has been in use since June on about 85% of patients. Baricitinib, also given by IV and used with Remdesivir, began to be used this month. Dexamethasone, a steroid that reduces overactive immune response and which Scrase said “has been around since I went to medical school,” is often used on patients to prevent them from going on ventilators.

A new outpatient treatment being used to reduce hospitalization is Bamlanivimab, which was approved by the FDA for emergency use in Nov. New Mexico received 2,200 doses of it from the federal government and has used approximately 14% of them.

Scrase said not more has been used because it has to be mixed in a hospital and administered in an infusion center, making it difficult to use on COVID patients because infusion centers are often where patients with immune disorders or cancer are being treated.

However, he said that if a person over the age of 12 is showing COVID symptoms then they can contact their healthcare provider to see about receiving this treatment.

Scrase broke down the governor's earlier statement about increases in deaths. He said that the beginning of the pandemic in March to the end of October encompasses about 83% of the pandemic so far. From the end of October to Wednesday encompassed 17% of the pandemic’s timeline. Within that 17% the state has seen 63% of its total cases, 44% of its total hospitalizations, and 51% of its deaths.

“This is why our hospitals are having to work so hard and have become so full, we've compressed really almost eight months of the pandemic into six weeks,” Scrase said.