State reports only one death

117 new infections confirmed in New Mexico Monday

SANTA FE — New Mexico reported just one coronavirus death Monday — the lowest number in nearly a month.

The state has averaged about five deaths a day over the past week.

The statewide death toll, in any case, now stands at 655 since the pandemic reached New Mexico in March.

The latest victim was a man in his 60s from Doña Ana County. He had underlying medical conditions.

State health officials also said Monday that testing had confirmed at least 117 new infections in New Mexico, though it was just a partial total because of a technical disruption in the reporting system for laboratories.

Doña Ana County led the state with 27 new cases in Monday’s partial results. Three people held by

federal agencies at the Cibola County Correctional Center also tested positive, health officials said.

New Mexico’s daily case totals have been falling over the past week. The state is now averaging about 234 cases a day over the past seven days, down from an average of 326 through Monday last week.

But the figure may climb later this week as test results come in to make up for Monday’s partial total.

Health officials reported Monday that 131 virus patients are now hospitalized in New Mexico, four more than Sunday.

Officials also have designated 8,463 people as having recovered from the disease, though they say the figure is almost certainly higher.

Altogether, the state has now confirmed 21,130 cases of the virus out of 577,810 tests, for a positivity rate of 3.7%.

The last day in New Mexico without at least one reported coronavirus death was July 5.