91°µÍø

New Mexico is one of just five states that has kept its COVID-19 public health emergency order in effect. It was set to expire Friday but the governor announced it will stay in place for the rest of the month — the last of 41 extensions since March, 2020.

Three New Mexico counties – McKinley, Valencia and San Juan – have high community levels of COVID-19. That’s according to the latest CDC data accounting for hospitalization and case rates. But in terms of just the spread of the virus, all but one of New Mexico’s counties are bright red on the CDC map, showing the highest levels of transmission. 91°µÍø’s Jered Ebenreck has this report. And the state’s surveillance tools for tracking the virus appear to be contracting or stalled.

On the latest CDC COVID maps, all 33 New Mexico counties show low COVID Community levels, indicating further declines in hospitalizations statewide. Yet, COVID is still widespread with 23 counties showing high transmission. The state reported 12 deaths Thursday as health officials gave an update on the state's response to four viruses: COVID-19, Monkeypox, West Nile, and Polio.

New Mexico now has 11 counties with high COVID-19 community levels, including Bernalillo and Sandoval. That’s according to new data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Thursday, July 28. It’s six fewer counties than last week, but large swaths of red on the state map show the continuing surge driven by the highly transmissible BA5 variant.

The COVID-19 public health emergency allowed people enrolled in Medicaid to stay enrolled. But as the expiration date for that emergency looms many states are planning for big changes in Medicaid–including New Mexico.