COVID cases rise 96 percent in Taos County

One additional death reported

The COVID-19 case rate increased sharply this past week, rising by 96 percent throughout Taos County after a nine percent rise in cases the previous week. The county saw 49 new cases in the past week, compared to 25 cases the week before, according to Town of Taos GIS Analyst Tim Corner. Meanwhile, cases were up 43 percent throughout the state and 32 percent nationally.

In New Mexico, the sevenday-average daily case count has increased to 516 cases per week, compared to 360 the previous week. The total number of cases in Taos County is now at 5,484, while 5,261 patients in Taos County are reported to have recovered from the virus.

“While the CDC still considers Taos County to have a low level of COVID-19 in the community, the numbers are trending more strongly in the wrong direction than last week,” said Corner in an email, noting the case count nearly doubled. “Meanwhile testing actually fell slightly, resulting in a seven-day case positivity rate of 12.5 percent, above the state’s old gating target of 7.5 percent and an indication that many cases are not being captured through the state’s reporting system.”

Corner said that hospitalizations are also trending upward, with a state average of 86 hospitalizations last week. The number was as low as 42 at the end of April. “Hospital admissions in our health service area doubled from 3.3 to 6.6 per 100k [people] last week, reflecting 16 hospital admissions in the region.”

One additional death was reported among Taos County residents in the past week, bringing the total number of deaths to 91 since March 1, 2020. Before this week, the last person to die of COVID-19 in Taos County was on April 14.

The New Mexico Department of Health reports that the state has seen more than 531,000 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began in March of 2020, with a death toll of 7,700, up from 7,638 the previous week. The CDC reports that more than 999,000 people have died in the U.S. due to

COVID-19, and is reporting there are approximately 19,151 hospitalizations nationwide as of press time, up from 16,571 hospitalizations last week.

Taos County residents (aged 18+) are 90 percent fully vaccinated, 99 percent partially vaccinated and 60 percent boosted, according to Corner. For the state as a whole, 80 percent are fully vaccinated and 95 percent are partially vaccinated. Sixty-eight percent of New Mexicans have received one booster shot, while seven percent have received more than one.

For younger New Mexicans (aged 12–17), 62 percent are fully vaccinated and 70 percent are partially vaccinated, 61 percent fully vaccinated and 43 percent with one booster. Thirty-two percent of children aged 5-11 have been fully vaccinated and 40 percent have been partially vaccinated.

To get vaccinated, or sign up to get a booster shot, go to vaccinenm.org.