Curry County enters yellow designation

SANTA FE — Curry County entered the yellow designation of the state’s “Red to Green” reopening plan for the first time Wednesday afternoon, while Roosevelt County just missed reaching the mark.

The state, beginning Nov. 30, evaluated counties on two-week periods based on whether they met the metrics of 8 daily COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents and test positivity of 5% or lower. Green counties meet both, yellow counties meet one and red counties meet neither.

Curry County, for the Jan. 26-Feb. 8 data period, submitted 3.99% test positivity and 14.9 cases per 100,000 residents.

The county may immediately operate under the relaxed public health orders of the yellow designation, including indoor dining at 25% and outdoor dining at 75%. Establishments serving alcohol may stay open until 10 p.m.

Essential retail spaces can go from 25% capacity to 33% capacity, and mass gatherings are defined in yellow counties as 10 people or 80 vehicles, compared to five people and 40 vehicles in red counties.

Roosevelt County will remain in the red designation, with 5.3% test positivity and 19.4 daily cases per 100,000.

A total of four counties are now in the green designation — Catron, Sierra, Harding and Union. A total of 15 counties, including Curry and Quay, are in the yellow. There are 14 counties that remain in the red, including seven in the state’s southeast region.

Information on the color-coded health restrictions is available at https://cv.nmhealth.org/public-health-orders-and-executive-orders/red-to-green/