1,000 DEATHS: HOW WE GOT HERE
MARCH 11: N.M. confirms 4 positive tests for coronavirus; governor declares emergency
MARCH 12: Schools closed for 3 weeks beginning March 16; large public gatherings banned; Archdiocese of Santa Fe halts church services
MARCH 13: President declares pandemic national emergency; coronavirus testing underway in N.M.
MARCH 14: Nursing home visitors restricted
MARCH 15: Restaurants and bars limited to 50% capacity
MARCH 18: DOH asks those traveling into New Mexico from outside the state to self-isolate for 14 days
MARCH 19: Restaurants, bars closed to in-person dining; theaters, indoor malls, gyms, resort spas closed
MARCH 23: Governor issues “stay at home” order; “nonessential” businesses statewide ordered to close; public urged to avoid all nonessential travel
MARCH 25: N.M. announces 1st coronavirus death — an Eddy County man
MARCH 26: MDC releases medically at-risk inmates
MARCH 27: Schools ordered to remain closed for rest of school year; districts move to remote learning
MARCH 30: 39-year-old inmate at MDC tests positive for virus, first known case in a N.M. correctional facility
APRIL 2: State urges residents to wear masks in public
APRIL 3: Outbreak at La Vida Llena leaves 2 dead, 20 more infected
APRIL 4: Navajo Nation grapples with skyrocketing COVID-19 infections; per capita rate of infections more than 7 times higher than N.M.
APRIL 6: Governor extends emergency order to May 1; liquor stores, payday lenders now also must close; car dealers required to close sales rooms, lots
APRIL 10: Worldwide virus deaths pass 100,000; in N.M., confirmed cases surge above 1,000 mark with confirmed cases in 26 of state’s 33 counties
APRIL 13: GOP pushes to reopen businesses, a refrain echoed through the coming months
APRIL 27: N.M. pushes past 100-death milestone, recording a total of 104 deaths
MAY 1: Nonessential businesses can resume sales with curbside pickup and delivery; golf courses, state parks can open, with limits; governor orders lockdown for Gallup
MAY 3: N.M. announces 12 deaths, setting single-day record for state
MAY 6: N.M. requires masks for restaurant, grocery workers
MAY 11: State announces that all New Mexicans can now get free virus testing
MAY 16: Retailers throughout most of state and houses of worship can operate at 25% capacity; people in public spaces required to wear masks
MAY 27: Restaurants can open patio dining
JUNE 1: Restaurants, gyms, salons and malls allowed to reopen at partial capacity
JUNE 2: 116 new COVID-19 cases at Otero County Prison, bringing total at facility to 162
JUNE 22: Lawmakers wrap up unprecedented special session in Roundhouse, which focused on budget adjustments and approving financial aid to businesses and local governments; the Roundhouse is closed to the public
JUNE 24: Staggering number of cases reported at Otero prison: 426 in state system, 275 in federal prison facility and 146 at federal processing center
N.M. virus deaths hit 500
JULY 8: COVID-19 spike triggers more testing and hourslong lines at testing sites
JULY 9: State officials announce that high school football and other fall contact sports will be called off
JULY 13: Governor tightens mask mandate, requiring that they be worn outside of the home for almost all activities, including exercise; indoor dining at restaurants banned; tougher limits on gyms
JULY 21: Governor urges UNM, NMSU to cancel fall sports due to escalating danger from coronavirus
JULY 23: Schools limited to online learning until at least after Labor Day
JULY 24: More than 300 COVID-19 cases reported in jails across state
JULY 30: N.M. extends restrictions another month
AUG. 4: Supreme Court rules fines to enforce health orders are legal, one of several legal victories concerning state’s handling of pandemic
AUG. 29: Restaurants can reopen at 25% capacity; other restrictions eased
SEPT. 4: Travel quarantine order eased; hotels can operate at 75% maximum occupancy
Some schools allowed to reopen under hybrid model
N.M. rolling average of new coronavirus cases hits lowest point since April
OCT. 1: Governor pleads with New Mexicans to wear masks, avoid gatherings of more than 10 as hospitalizations climb 30%
OCT. 6: COVID-19 cases spike at MDC
OCT. 8: Governor warns state is at risk of “uncontrollable” virus spread; remaining fall sports postponed until 2021
OCT. 13: Explosion in virus cases prompts governor to tighten restrictions, including prohibition of gatherings of more than five people
OCT. 16: Virus surge claims youngest victim, an 18-year-old Eddy County woman; at MDC, 307 inmates and 43 staffers have COVID
OCT. 20: Record-breaking virus cases prompt governor to announce more stringent requirements, including closing retail and some other businesses by 10 p.m.
Archdiocese of Santa Fe announces that it will once again halt in-person church services
State reports 1,082 new infections, another record high
State surpasses 1,000 COVID deaths