NM announces 11 more deaths, 143 new cases

Masks are now mandated in public settings

SANTA FE — Eleven more New Mexicans — ranging in age from their 20s to at least 100 — died in the coronavirus outbreak, state officials said Thursday, pushing the death toll to 242.

The state also announced that testing had confirmed 143 additional cases of

COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus. The state now has 5,503 cases.

About 60% of the new infections were in McKinley and San Juan counties, continuing a trend. The northwest part of the state — including the Navajo Nation — has been hit hard by the virus.

Seven of the 11 deaths announced Thursday were residents of McKinley and San Juan counties. There were also deaths of adults from Bernalillo, Socorro, Otero and Santa Fe counties.

Nine of the 11 people who died had underlying medical conditions of some kind, a risk factor for the disease.

The youngest was a woman in her 20s and the oldest was a woman in her 100s, both from McKinley County.

The state designated 1,576 people as having recovered from the disease.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said this week that transmission rates have fallen enough to allow the partial reopening of retail stores and churches Saturday.

But she is mandating the wearing of masks in public, with exceptions for exercise, eating and drinking. People should still take care to avoid unnecessary trips outside the home, the governor said.

“Stay home. Don’t gather with people. Wear a mask,” she said on Twitter.