SANTA FE – New Mexico on Saturday reported more than 1,800 additional known COVID-19 cases as the coronavirus showed signs of slowing over the past two weeks.
The state reported 1,803 additional known cases and 24 additional deaths, increasing the state’s totals to 118,358 cases and 1,913 deaths, according to the state’s coronavirus dashboard.
Data from Johns Hopkins University and The COVID Tracking Project, seven-day rolling averages of daily new cases and COVID-19 testing positivity declined over the past two weeks, though the rolling average of new daily deaths increased slightly.
The daily case rolling average dropped from 2,107.7 on Nov. 27 to 1,661.4 on Friday as the daily deaths average inched upward from 25.6 to 26.1, and the testing positivity average declined from 16.7% to 13.4%.
New cases and testing positivity are considered leading indicators in the outbreak that can show trends later seen in hospitalizations and deaths.
New Mexico ranks 12th among U.S. states for the most new cases per capita in the past 14 days.
“We cannot become numb to this,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said Friday on Twitter. “My prayers are with the loved ones of these New Mexicans. Let’s all do everything we can to stop this terrible virus.”
Bernalillo County had 573 of the additional cases reported Saturday. Sandoval and Lea counties each had more than 100 cases. Doña Ana, McKinley and Santa Fe counties each had more than 90.
The number of infections is thought to be far higher than reported because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.
The state on Friday announced a delay in the return to in-person learning after schools’ winter break, in an effort to help mitigate what may be a post-holiday surge in COVID-19 cases and to minimize the risk of exposure in in-person learning environments during that time.
No in-person learning will be permitted during the weeks of Jan. 4 and Jan. 11, public education officials said.
