ALBUQUERQUE – The incoming and outgoing New Mexico education secretaries on Wednesday launched the fall semester with appearances at a high school pep rally packed with about 1,000 mask-wearing teenagers as top health officials issued another plea to residents to help limit the spread of COVID-19.
Ahead of the rally, students talked and hugged. One friend jumped into another’s arms.
Inside, they were seated next to one another on the bleachers as they participated in a chant session with the principal and with Kurt Steinhaus, who will become public education secretary next week after Ryan Stewart leaves the post.
“Show up, it matters,” Steinhaus said, leading the chant of the same phrase at Highland High School in Albuquerque.
Steinhaus and school officials were upbeat, highlighting that the students in attendance had overcome much adversity over the past year.
But there will likely be more ahead.
State Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. David Scrase and Dr. Christine Ross, the state epidemiologist, warned that confirmed COVID-19 case counts this week are 10 times higher than just four weeks ago. They also noted during a briefing with reporters that the positivity rate – which is the percentage of positive cases among those who are tested – is more than three times higher than it was in early July.
“It’s the rapid rise that has caught us by surprise and is quite alarming,” Ross said.
Health officials pointed to modeling that showed New Mexico will likely see about 1,000 new infections a day by the end of the month and that those new infections will likely mean more hospitalizations and deaths in the weeks after that.
They also cited studies that have shown vaccinated people can become infected and spread the virus to others.
“This is a real thing. It changes how we think about things,” Scrase said, adding that masks, hand-washing, social distancing and avoiding large crowds still work to prevent infection.
Scrase and Ross also shared models that showed reductions in the number of daily cases are possible if all students and staff members are required to wear masks, regardless of vaccination status.
Statewide, about 40% of youths ages 12 to 17 are fully vaccinated. That’s far lower than the 65% inoculation rate among New Mexico’s adults.
Albuquerque Public Schools promoted vaccines to parents and students and hosted clinics on campuses this spring and summer, but many students still don’t have shots. Similar efforts were made in Las Cruces.
Among the immediate challenges for Steinhaus is keeping children in New Mexico’s public school system after enrollment dropped about 4% last year.
Statistics show that the state’s growth in home schooling drove the enrollment decline amid high demand for teen workers across the U.S. The resurgence of the COVID-19 virus threatens to keep enrollment down.
Most school districts have adopted some version of the state’s mask mandates as classes resume. However, there is an ongoing legal battle with members of the Floyd school board who were recently suspended by the Public Education Department for making masks optional. The rural district serves about 225 students.
Lawyers for the board members filed a motion Wednesday in state district court seeking to rescind the suspensions and to request a hearing on the matter. They contend the state has overstepped its authority.
