Updated order will allow more reopenings
Citing improved data, governor says malls, gyms, salons, restaurants, hotels, other businesses may start operations again at partial capacity
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Thursday the partial reopening of restaurants, salons, gyms and other businesses starting Monday, as novel coronavirus figures have continued to improve.
Restaurants will be able to offer indoor dine-in service at 50 percent of maximum occupancy, while gyms will also be able to open half-full, the governor said.
Hair salons, barbershops, tattoo parlors, massage services and nail salons will be able to operate at 25 percent occupancy and on an appointment-only basis. Indoor malls, too, can open at 25 percent, although with food courts closed and loitering prohibited.
“New Mexicans have worked really hard to respect and protect each other, and in fact it’s paying off,” Lujan Grisham said Thursday in a news conference broadcast on her Facebook page. “I hope people are feeling like this is progress.”
Human Services Secretary David Scrase said New Mexico, compared to other states, is succeeding in slowing the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The rate of transmission is decreasing, the number of tests conducted is increasing and the state’s main hospitals have adequate supplies of personal protective equipment, he said.
“We’re seeing improvements across the state,” he said.
The statewide rate of COVID-19 transmission has fallen to 1.09, below the state’s target and lower than last week, Scrase said. The secretary also displayed a graph showing a consistent decline since early May in the seven-day average of daily positive cases.
Additionally, only 288 intensive care units are
occupied, well below the state’s target of under 460 units.
Still, the disease will continue to spread until the transmission rate drops below 1.
The state announced 108 new positive cases and six additional deaths Thursday, bringing the total number of novel coronavirus-related deaths to 335. Currently, 196 individuals are hospitalized for COVID-19 in the state.
Lujan Grisham said a total of 7,364 people have tested positive for the virus out of more than 183,500 tests administered.
“It’s really important for us to respect the virus, how far it can spread and the serious damage it can do,” Scrase said.
New measures
When restaurants reopen Monday, bar and counter seating will be prohibited, as will standing service, the governor said. Six feet of distance must be maintained between tables with seated customers.
Pools can reopen for lap swimming and lessons with up to two students, and personal training will be allowed at gyms for up to two trainees.
Drive-in theaters will be allowed to open, and hotels can operate at 50 percent of occupancy, up from the previous 25 percent limit. The order requiring people flying into New Mexico from out of state to quarantine for 14 days will be amended to allow for certain business travel.
“It’s really tough for businesses to be closed,” the governor said, asking residents to support businesses and ensure safety by wearing masks, washing hands regularly and maintaining social-distancing guidelines.
Some public health restrictions are not changing yet, including the order keeping retailers and houses of worship operating at 25 percent capacity.
Bars and breweries that do not serve food remain closed, mass gatherings are still prohibited, and officials are still urging people to stay home unless they have to go out. People still need to wear face coverings in public settings, the governor said.
Officials said they will continue to monitor coronavirus data to determine a timeline for reopening venues that remain closed, such as theaters, casinos, zoos, bowling alleys and museums.
Permission for large gatherings appears even further away.
“Until we are all vaccinated or until we have a treatment or possibly both, it’s not really likely that we are going to have very large gatherings,” Scrase said.
Still, the Legislature plans to hold a special session in mid-June at the state Capitol, a gathering that the governor said will be “tough” to pull off under the current health orders.
But she said it was necessary because “without having a special session, the core services that are keeping New Mexicans safe may not be available.”
The state Senate plans to convene in person at the Roundhouse, but senators will participate from their offices instead of having large gatherings in the chamber or in committee rooms, Lujan Grisham said.
“They can’t all be in a committee room and they can’t all be in the chamber at the same time, because it would be a violation of the current public health order,” the governor said. “They are clear about that.”
Meanwhile, the House is in discussions to possibly participate remotely, she said.
Some legislators might also sit in the gallery and the public might be prohibited from entering, Scrase said. Masks will be required and temperatures will be taken as people enter and leave the building, Lujan Grisham said.
“It won’t be like any other legislative session that we’ve seen before,” the governor said.
Businesses’ response
Despite the announcement, some Santa Fe restaurants said they won’t be able to reopen Monday because they don’t have enough time to prepare.
“Not at all,” said Matt Yohalem, owner and chef of Il Piatto, when asked if he would open June 1. “It’s not like a light switch. It will take at least a week or two weeks to figure out how things are working.”
Yohalem figures he will have to “compose a new menu” based on which ingredients are available, how much they cost now and how the food supply chain is functioning.
“There will be different products, different prices than before,” he said.
Santacafé likely won’t reopen Monday either. “It’s really difficult to do that,” said owner Quinn Stephenson. “Think of every purveyor and distributor. I think most people need a working week to put a team together — at least I do.”
On the other hand, Osteria d’Assisi will have no problem opening indoors Monday as owner Lino Pertusini started curbside and delivery May 18 and launched outdoor dining Thursday evening, as allowed Wednesday by the governor.
“Monday, we are open 50 percent indoors,” Pertusini said. “Fifty percent is fine in my case. We seat 180 people. We have six rooms. Fifty percent gets us 80 or 90 people.”
The Santa Fe hotel world has changed since Lujan Grisham imposed the 25 percent occupancy April 6. Until mid-May, occupancy was so low that reaching 25 percent would have been an achievement. But the number of travelers from Texas, Colorado and other nearby states has picked up measurably.
El Rey Court filled the maximum 25 percent occupancy each of the last two weekends, and co-owner Jeff Burns said he would limit occupancy at 50 percent even without the governor’s order.
“My wife says, ‘I don’t want you to stay in a room somebody stayed in last night,’ ” Burns said. “I do believe having the 24 hours between people staying in rooms is important.”
The Inn of the Governors doesn’t expect to reach 50 percent occupancy for another month or two, general manager Sam Gerberding said.
The Inn of the Governors and La Fonda on the Plaza spent the last couple months cleaning and touching up in ways that can only be done when there are few guests.
The Inn of the Governors sanded and stained many wood elements and did extensive exterior and interior cleaning and kitchen repairs. La Fonda cleared all furniture from its 180 rooms and shampooed carpets and curtains.
“We did a deep cleaning in the kitchen that you don’t do more than every few years,” La Fonda general manager Rik Blyth said. “We took out all the equipment and scrubbed the tile.”
The Inn at Santa Fe near Fashion Outlets of Santa Fe expects 20 percent occupancy in June, sales representative Victoria Bruneni said.
“We anticipate this to continue over the next few months,” Bruneni said. “We also anticipate tourism to start to trickle back into the market from surrounding states that can reach Santa Fe by vehicle.”
Meanwhile, DeVargas Center will reopen Monday with its normal hours, senior project manager Katy Fitzgerald said.
“Honestly, for us [the 25 percent maximum capacity] is fine,” Fitzgerald said. “By and large, if we don’t have events, we’re below that.”
Sta≠ reporters Teya Vitu and Robert Nott contributed to this article.