N.M. to ease restrictions on outdoor activities

Gov. plans to modify health order on Oct. 1

Some restrictions on outdoor activities in New Mexico will be loosened when Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham modifies the state’s emergency public health order on Oct. 1.

The governor announced in an update broadcast over Facebook Live on Thursday (Sept. 17) that overnight camping – for state residents only – will again be allowed at “most state parks,” in groups of no more than 10.

The new order also stipulated that “youth sports conditioning and skills development” will be allowed, with no more than 10 individuals in any one group. The order will still restrict “competitive contact play.”

Pick-your-own-pumpkin patches will also be permitted starting in October. Ice skating rinks will be allowed to operate for “athletic training and practice by reservation only.” Swimming pools, which were previously open to lap swimming only, will now be open to other activities with groups of no more than 10.

The state’s mask mandate remains in place. The governor suggested that some masks, like the one she wore during Thursday’s conference, might be waterproof, and therefore could even be worn while swimming.

The order is set to remain in effect through mid-October.

Lujan Grisham said that New Mexicans were “overall, doing really well” in meeting gating criteria the state has set for reopening.

The state met goals related to the rate of viral spread, test positivity rate, contact tracing and hospital beds and medical supplies. The governor said the state was just shy of meeting its goal of conducting 5,000 tests per day on average, with an average of 4,617 per day as of Sept. 14.