Quay County and New Mexico last week each showed tentative signs of a drop-off in the number of coronavirus cases.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Quay County last week was 67, including seven on Friday, compared to 89 cases the previous week and 104 the week before that.

Also, no deaths were reported in the county for the first time in several weeks. The death toll in Quay County stood at 37 since the pandemic began in spring 2020. More than three-quarters of the county’s deaths have occurred since late May, mostly during a spike with the Delta variant.

Local school districts were letting their guard down, though. Officials at Tucumcari and Logan sent out messages last week that implored parents to keep their child home from school if they showed any signs of illness.

The total number of cases in the county rose to 1,882 since the pandemic began in spring 2020.

According to state epidemiology reports, Quay County’s COVID-19 case rate rose to 164.2 new cases per 100,000 people from Jan. 11 to Jan. 24, a more modest increase compared to recent weeks. However, because transmission rates remain so high in New Mexico, Quay County ranked in the bottom quarter of the state.

Neighboring De Baca County continued to see caseloads of over 300 per 100,000 people, ranking the fifth-worst in the state. Chaves County saw New Mexico’s worst rate, with 380.3.

The breakdown of COVID-19 cases by ZIP code in Quay County through Friday was 1,447 in Tucumcari, 270 in Logan, 87 in San Jon, 27 in House, 18 in McAlister, 17 in Bard and 14 in Nara Visa. New cases were spread throughout the county, but mostly in Tucumcari.

A total of 1,535 people in the county were deemed by the DOH to have recovered from the virus.

These COVID-19 rapid responses in the county were reported last week:

• K-Bee Homecare Service, Tucumcari, one case reported Jan. 21 and three cases reported Jan. 26;

• Logan Municipal Schools, one case reported Jan. 25;

• Quay County Family Health Center, Tucumcari, two cases reported Jan. 25;

• UPS Customer Center, Tucumcari, one case reported Jan. 25;

• New Mexico Department of Transportation, Nara Visa, one case reported Jan. 25;

• Union Pacific Railroad, Tucumcari, one case reported Jan. 25;

• Tucumcari Public Schools, one case reported Jan. 25 and one case reported Jan. 26;

• Love’s Travel Stop, Tucumcari, three cases reported Jan. 27;

• House High School, one case reported Jan. 27;

• City of Tucumcari, one case reported Jan. 27.

A typical rapid response consists of isolating positive cases, quarantining close contacts, ceasing operations to the extent necessary to isolate affected areas, disinfecting these areas, implementing safety procedures and resuming operations. Typically, operations are ceased for fewer than 24 hours before it is safe to reopen.

In New Mexico, the seven-day daily average of cases fell to a little more than 3,900 by Friday, compared to more than 5,500 just a few days before. The Omicron variant typically has shown rapid spikes and rapid drops in cases.

New Mexico Health Secretary David Scrase said during a briefing last week he expected the Omicron variant caseload to peak shortly, if it hadn’t already started.

A total of 5,291 new cases of coronavirus were reported in New Mexico on Friday.

That raised the total since the pandemic began to more than 470,000.

Twenty-six COVID-19 deaths were reported in the state Friday, raising the total to 6,417.

A total of 673 people were hospitalized in New Mexico with the disease Friday, an increase of 40 from the previous week.

The total number of active cases in the Amarillo metro region continued to rise sharply, to more than 13,800 by Friday. That was an increase of about 3,000 from the previous week. The active-case count in the metro was about 300 last summer.

The disease has killed 1,058 people in the Amarillo metro since the pandemic began.

In the U.S., more than 74 million people have been confirmed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, with more than 882,000 deaths, on Saturday.

Vaccinations

A mobile vaccine unit will make a stop at Mesalands Community College from Feb. 8 to Feb. 13 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

It will offer Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for people age 12 and up and Pfizer vaccines for children age 5 to 11. Walk-in patients will be welcome, with no identification and no insurance necessary.

Local health providers also are offering shots by appointment.

According to state data through Friday, 52.2% of Quay County residents have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus. That was an increase of 0.2% from the previous week.

About 59.9% of county residents have received one shot of COVID-19 vaccine through Friday, an increase of 0.3% from the previous week.

In New Mexico, 77.2% of eligible residents had been fully vaccinated by Friday, with 91.3% receiving at least one dose of vaccine.

Residents can schedule vaccinations through the state’s registration portal at VaccineNM.org. Parents can sign up children over age 5 for vaccinations at the state’s portal at vaccineNM.org/kids or their health provider.

The Department of Health’s vaccination helpline is available at 855-600-3453, option 3.

The federal government also is offering free rapid COVID-19 tests that can be shipped to homes. They can be ordered at COVIDtests.gov or calling 800-232-0233 or 888-720-7489.

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