SANTA FE – A city health official says 18 residents of a retirement facility in Albuquerque have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Mark DiMenna, deputy director of Albuquerque’s Environmental Health Department, confirmed Friday the positive tests for COVID-19 a day after the first infection turned up at La Vida Llena.
The retirement community has independent living facilities as well as assisted living residents. It was unclear which residents were affected.
New Mexico suspended public access to assisted living facilities, with exceptions for end-of-life hospice care, shortly after the first coronavirus in the state was detected in mid-March. People older than 60 are more vulnerable to severe effects of the contagion, medical experts said.
The state Health Department had no immediate comment in advance of a scheduled afternoon news conference by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who said she halted in-person visits to her own mother at an assisted living facility as a precaution.
New Mexico has more than 400 cases, with dozens of people hospitalized. The state also has reported seven deaths related to the virus. Representatives for La Vida Llena had no immediate comment.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.
In other developments:
A western New Mexico hotel that once hosted John Wayne and future President Ronald Reagan will use one of its buildings to house homeless patients.The Gallup Independent reported that El Rancho Hotel agreed this week to offer its space if health care workers needed places for critical patients affected by COVID-19.
El Rancho Hotel officials said patients will be placed in a separate building across the parking lot from the central hotel. The building has enough space for up to 20 homeless people.
The New Mexico Department of Transportation and the Archiocese 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.“In unity with all Christians, we call on the faithful to make home the holy place for the sake of all families during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Archbishop John Wester said. “Stay home. By practicing social distancing, together we can save lives.”
