Two People Die At Albuquerque Retirement Facility With Coronavirus Cases - By Morgan Lee, Associated Press
Two people have died at a retirement facility in Albuquerque where a city health official says 19 residents and three staff members tested positive for the coronavirus.
The Albuquerque Journal reported Friday state health officials confirmed two people died at La Vida Llena and other tests at the facility are pending.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday announced the state has 495 cases and that 10 people have died.
The Journal reported the residents who tested positive were in the Health Care section of the complex, which an official with La Vida Llena said is the nursing home area. La Vida Llena houses 425 people.
New Mexico suspended public access to assisted living facilities with few exceptions after the first coronavirus in the state was detected in mid-March.
Experts say people over the age of 60 are more vulnerable to severe effects of the contagion.
In other developments related to the coronavirus, the New Mexico Department of Transportation and the Archdiocese of Santa Fe on Friday urged Catholics to stay home during Holy Week and to refrain from participating in annual pilgrimages that have been canceled.
Archbishop John Wester called on the faithful to make home the holy place this Easter season for the sake of all families in the pandemic. He said by practicing social distancing people can save lives together.
COVID Cases Rise To 495 With Three Additional Deaths - KUNM
The New Mexico Department of Health said on Friday the total number of COVID-19 cases in the state rose to 495 and there were three more deaths, bringing the total to 10.
Human Services Secretary Dr. David Scrase said modeling shows hospitals may be at full capacity by the third week of April through the first week of May, although some hospitals in Gallup and Farmington may see surges earlier.
At maximal capacity when all hospitals are expanding all resources available, Scrase said the state would be short 1,281 general hospital beds and 1,586 intensive care unit beds.
There would also be a need for 1,004 additional ventilators under this modeling, but Scrase added that does not include continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, machines, which could help bridge that gap. Many people use those at home for sleep apnea.
Scrase said continuing social distancing will help slow the spread of coronavirus and reduce the peak of that surge. He credited social distancing with helping decrease the rate at which infection rates are doubling in the state, from 2 days in mid-March to nearly 4 as of Friday.
New Mexico Has Few Medical Masks To Spare As Virus Spreads – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
State officials say New Mexico's health care system has a limited statewide stock of about 44,000 snug-fitting N95 face masks that can protect medical workers from the coronavirus by filtering out small airborne particles.
Confirmed COVID-19 cases across New Mexico increased Thursday by 11% to 403, with seven deaths and about 34 people hospitalized.
The Albuquerque Journal reported the governor’s office said Thursday that top state health officials are strongly encouraging residents to use face coverings when they leave their houses.
However, they also said specially designed masks for medical workers should not be used by the general public to ensure adequate supplies.
New Mexico has about 2.4 million exam gloves, 70,500 medical gowns and 234,000 surgical masks that offer less protection from virus infections than N95 masks.
State officials provided the figures on protective equipment after The Associated Press requested details about the state's supplies.
Police Say Man Tried To Set Wife On Fire Over Stimulus Check – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
A New Mexico man is facing charges after police say he became enraged he didn't qualify for a COVID-19-related stimulus check and tried to set his wife on fire.
The Albuquerque Journal reports Joe Macias was arrested Wednesday shortly following an argument with his disabled wife, where he allegedly doused her with gasoline.
According to police, the 63-year-old Macias pulled out a cigarette and attempted to light it several times, but was unsuccessful due to the lighter getting gasoline on it.
Macias charged with attempted murder, kidnapping, and aggravated battery against a household member.
Organizations working to stop domestic violence have warned abuse incidents are rising because of people sheltering in place to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
New Mexico Sees Another Huge Spike In Unemployment Claims - By Russell Contreras And Morgan Lee, Associated Press
More than 28,000 New Mexico residents have applied for unemployment benefits. That’s over 50% more than the amount filed the previous week.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday that 28,182 people in the state applied for unemployment benefits last week compared to record setting 18,105 the week before. Filings for unemployment aid generally reflect the pace of layoffs.
The numbers show the widespread economic shutdown caused by the coronavirus appears to be continuing to inflict damage to the nation's economy.
The Labor Department said more than 6.6 million Americans applied for benefits last week, doubling a record set just one week earlier.
New Mexico's Workforce Solutions Department that oversees unemployment in a state of 2 million residents says phone lines were overwhelmed by more than a half-million calls in one day as the federal government prepared to expand unemployment coverage to independent contractors, the self-employed and gig-economy workers. It was too soon this week to process those claims.
Metropolitan Detention Center On Lockdown For Additional COVID-19 Testing – KUNM News
The state’s largest jail has gone into lockdown while the Department of Health tests nearly 80 inmates for COVID-19.
Officials with the Metropolitan Detention Center said an inmate who tested positive for COVID-19 is quarantined in a cell in a negative pressure room. Four other inmates are in quarantine.
Another 73 inmates have been placed in two separate housing units and are being tested. Lockdown means inmates may only leave their cells for showers and to make phone calls.
The total number of positive tests for COVID-19 in New Mexico rose to 403 on Thursday.
Cleanup Of US Nuclear Waste Takes Back Seat As Virus Spreads - By Susan Montoya Bryan Associated Press
The U.S. government's efforts to clean up Cold War-era waste from nuclear research and bomb making at federal sites around the country has lumbered along for decades, often at a pace that watchdogs and other critics say threatens public health and the environment.
Now, fallout from the global coronavirus pandemic is resulting in more challenges as the nation's only underground repository for nuclear waste finished ramping down operations Wednesday to keep workers safe.
Shipments to the desert outpost will be limited for the foreseeable future while national laboratories and defense sites around the country have shifted to only those operations considered "mission critical."
Officials at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant warned state regulators in a letter Tuesday that more time would be needed for inspections and audits and that work would be curtailed or shifts would be staggered to ensure workers keep their distance from one another.
Hotel That Hosted John Wayne To House Homeless Patients - Gallup Independent, Associated Press
A western New Mexico hotel that once hosted John Wayne and future U.S. President Ronald Reagan will use one of its buildings to house homeless respiratory patients.
The Gallup Independent reports El Rancho Hotel agreed this week to offer its space in the event health care workers needed places for critical patients affected by COVID-19.
El Rancho Hotel officials say patients will be placed in a separate building located across the parking lot from the central hotel.
Located on Route 66 near the Arizona state line, El Rancho Hotel played host to actors Reagan, Wayne, Katherine Hepburn, and Spencer Tracy.
New Mexico City Mayor Sworn In After Predecessor Indicted - Las Vegas Optic, Associated Press
The northern New Mexico city of Las Vegas has officially sworn in a new mayor whose predecessor resigned amid bribery charges.
The Las Vegas Optic reports Louie Trujillo took the oath of office Wednesday during a special ceremony that was live-streamed to the public. The ceremony was limited to five people due to order restrictions over the spread of COVID-19.
Trujillo was elected during the March municipal election, when he received 57.4% of the votes. He replaces Tonita Gurule-Giron, who resigned in January two weeks after she was indicted on charges of bribery and accepting kickbacks.
Gurule-Giron was charged in December with six felonies related to abuse of power, bid-rigging, and offering and receiving bribes, prosecutors said. She has pleaded not guilty.
US Judge Dismisses New Mexico's Immigration Lawsuit - By Susan Montoya Bryan Associated Press
A U.S. judge has granted a motion to dismiss claims by New Mexico that immigration officials shirked their duties by quickly releasing thousands of mostly Central American migrants into communities after they crossed into the United States.
New Mexico claimed in a 2019 lawsuit that the practice left communities to pick up the tab for housing and feeding the asylum-seekers until they moved on to find relatives or other hosts elsewhere in the U.S.
The judge found that federal officials acted within their powers and discretion and that sovereign immunity protected the federal government from liability.
With US Border Work On Track, Rural Towns Fear Virus Spread - By Matthew Brown, Stephen Groves and Cedar Attanasio, Associated Press
Major construction projects are moving forward along both U.S. borders and raising fears that the influx of workers could spread the coronavirus.
Along the southern border, workers travel every day from camps in New Mexico to build President Donald Trump's border wall.
Residents, tribal leaders and state officials worry that the work could make problems worse in rural areas with little or no medical infrastructure capable of handling an outbreak.
Cities have borne the brunt of the virus so far in the U.S., but rural areas are expected to be hit, too.
That's a fear in tiny Columbus, New Mexico, where residents worry about border wall workers who often gather outside the town's few restaurants despite an order to stay home and keep away from others.
In the town of less than 1,500 people, about 30 construction workers are living in tightly packed trailers, residents say.
Others are staying at two small hotels while they put up bollard-style fencing along the scrub desert — a small piece of about 200 miles of barrier being built at the U.S.-Mexico border.