COVID cases increase 62 percent

Average number of deaths decreases

COVID cases have continued to increase throughout Taos County with the spread of the Omicron variant. The county saw a 62 percent percent increase in its COVID19 case rate (cases per 100,000 people per week) this past week. Meanwhile, cases rose just one percent nationally and 75 percent in New Mexico.

Town of Taos GIS Analyst Tim Corner said nationally, cases appear to have just peaked, however they continue to increase in Taos County and New Mexico. “[Los Alamos National Laboratory] is forecasting cases to peak in New Mexico around January 30 at 7.5 thousand per day,” he said. “This would be consistent with the timeline of the Omicron wave in other states which have seen a four week surge to peak.”

Taos County reported a record-breaking 415 new cases of COVID-19 from Jan. 4 – Jan. 10, compared to 256 new cases the week before (the highest number at the time), according to Corner. The total number of cases in the county is now at 4,054.

No additional deaths were reported among Taos County residents in the past week, leaving the total number of deaths at 75. The last two people to die of COVID in the county were a woman in her 70’s and a man in his 70’s, both of whom were hospitalized.

Across New Mexico, 32 of 33 counties saw an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. All regions of the state experienced an increase but the Southeast region experienced the fastest growth, and the Metro region experienced the slowest growth.

The average daily case count for the state increased to 5,557 cases per day last week, up from 3,168 the week before. Meanwhile, the average deaths per day in the state decreased to 19 per day, down from 21 per day last week. Testing across the county has increased to an average of 323 tests per day.

Every county in the state currently has a high transmission rate – defined by the The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as any county with more than 100 new cases per 100,000 persons in the past seven days.

The New Mexico Department of Health reports that the state has seen more than 420,000 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began in March 2020, with a death toll of 6,177. The CDC reports that more than 850,000 people have died in the U.S. due to COVID-19.

Taos County residents (aged 18+) are 88 percent fully vaccinated and 99 percent partially vaccinated, according to Corner. For the state as a whole, 76 percent are fully vaccinated and 90 percent are partially vaccinated, and 39 percent have received a booster shot. For younger New Mexicans (aged 12–17), 58 percent are fully vaccinated and 68 percent are partially vaccinated. 22 percent of children aged 5-11 have been fully vaccinated, and 33 percent have been partially vaccinated.

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