NM reports 23 COVID deaths, 589 more cases Friday

New Mexico health officials reported 23 deaths related to the coronavirus on Friday, though the total number of new cases continued its downward trend.

Among the deaths reported Friday was a man in his 40s from McKinley County who wasn’t hospitalized and had no underlying health conditions, according to state data. The ages of those who died ranged from their 40s to their 90s. Six of them, two men and four women, were from Bernalillo

County.

Three of those who died were residents of long-term care facilities and one — a man in his 70s — was an inmate at the Lea County Correctional Facility.

The state has averaged 18.71 deaths related to COVID-19 per day for the past seven days, according to a Journal analysis. The state’s death toll since the start of the pandemic stands at 3,378.

New Mexico reported 589 new COVID-19 cases on Friday. The state is averaging 573 new cases per day for the past seven days,

which is the lowest since mid-October.

In Bernalillo County, there were 174 confirmed cases, bringing the total number of cases in the county to over 50,000 since the start of the pandemic.

According to state data, just over 120,000 Bernalillo County residents have been partially or fully vaccinated since the state started its vaccination efforts.

On Friday, a state Department of Health dashboard showed that 319,832 vaccines have been administered statewide. More than 242,000 have received their first dose of vaccine and 77,691 people have received their second booster shot, which health officials said is needed to achieve maximum immunity.