SANTA FE – The Native American community at Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico pushed back Friday against plans by the mayor of a nearby city to allow the reopening of nonessential businesses in defiance of a statewide health order.
Pueblo Gov. Brian Vallo urged the governor of New Mexico to take any measures necessary to prevent nonessential businesses in Grants from reopening before the state’s social distancing directives expire.
“I am extremely concerned that opening now is too soon and will create a very risky situation for my pueblo and will hamper our efforts to keep our community safe and protected,” Vallo said in a letter.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has indicated that she will extend New Mexico’s stay-at-home order until at least May 15, citing new evidence of transmission among asymptomatic people.
Mayors across the state are grappling with statewide restrictions on business and concerns about the future of local economies, as President Donald Trump on Friday signed a $484 billion bill that aids employers and hospitals under stress from the coronavirus pandemic.
Grants Mayor Martin “Modey” Hicks has encouraged small businesses to reopen next week and has implored fellow mayors to do the same, but it was unclear how many might follow his lead.
Lujan Grisham urged Hicks to walk back his comments, citing opposition in neighboring communities. She said businesses that reopen will be sanctioned with fines.
“This notion that you don’t have to comply is wrong,” Lujan Grisham said.
She also urged New Mexico residents to resist the temptation to travel prematurely to neighboring states such as Colorado and Texas as they ease business restrictions, warning it would fuel infections in New Mexico and prolong economic suffering.
Human Services Secretary David Scrase said anyone traveling to Denver by plane runs risk of infecting family and friends when they return, no matter what precautions they take.
Meanwhile, New Mexico health officials said six more people have died of COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 84. The state has reported more than 2,500 virus cases.
The Navajo Nation continues to grapple with surging COVID-19 infections and fatalities, even as authorities there enforce curfews and federal and state officials mount efforts to deliver aid.
The New Mexico Business Coalition has sent a letter signed by 19 mayors to the governor, pleading for an end to the public health order that closed nonessential businesses. The mayors of Carlsbad, Estancia, Hatch, Red River, Melrose, Tatum, Magdalena, Eunice, Roswell and Portales signed the letter, along with a handful of other mayors.
Grants is located about 70 miles west of Albuquerque.
State Police can cite any of the businesses if they violate the closure order. First-time offenders can be given warnings, second citations for the same offenders are petty misdemeanors with a fine of up to $100, and third-time violators can be fined up to $5,000, according to The Santa Fe New Mexican.
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 coronavirus developments:
New Mexico health officials say they have tested residents and staff for COVID-19 at 26 nursing homes and detected 144 infections. They say the National Guard has been trained to help decontaminate assisted living facilities.State Workforce Solutions Secretary Bill McCamley has offered an apology to residents who have been frustrated with the application process for unemployment benefits. Nearly 80,000 residents are receiving benefits, up from about 10,000 before the pandemic hit. Active applications number 124,000 as the state initiates benefits to self-employed and gig-economy workers.
