NM’s next reopening phase on ‘hold’ for now (NM Dem governor calls a pause)

The Albuquerque Journal ^ | June 25, 2020 | Dan McKay

[CedarDave]

SANTA FE – A plan to reopen more of New Mexico’s economy is on hold for now as coronavirus cases surge throughout the state.

In a public briefing Thursday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said she and state health officials are monitoring a “very concerning” climb in the transmission rate of the disease and waiting to see whether it’s a longer-term trend.

The state’s business restrictions – allowing restaurants and salons, for example, to operate at partial capacity – will remain in place for now. They are set to expire Wednesday, though the governor said she expects to decide before then whether to extend the order or make changes.

Health officials are weighing an array of options, Lujan Grisham said, including whether to reimpose more stringent health orders or step up enforcement of a requirement to wear masks in public, except when eating, drinking or exercising 6 feet away from other people.

Too many New Mexicans, Lujan Grisham said, are gathering in groups and refusing to wear a mask.”We are clearly not there,” the governor said Thursday of managing the disease. “We can do better than this.”

[...]

The effective rate of transmission reached 1.12 on Tuesday – meaning each person who’s infected transmits the disease on average to 1.12 other people. The rate was at 0.87 the previous week.

State health officials are considering whether to reimpose a quarantine order for out-of-state visitors who drive in, Lujan Grisham said, not just for air travelers. Even without a requirement, she suggested people avoid travel into or out of New Mexico and that they self-isolate if they must cross state lines.

“I think there’s a false sense of security now by, frankly, most Americans,” Lujan Grisham said. “The virus has not gone anywhere.”

[CedarDave]

Health officials are weighing an array of options, Lujan Grisham said, including whether to reimpose more stringent health orders or step up enforcement of a requirement to wear masks in public, except when eating, drinking or exercising 6 feet away from other people.

The damn Dem gov is getting ready to put us back into lockdown.

Down here in oil patch city, cars are lined up beginning before 7 a.m. for free covid-19 tests. There has been an increase in cases in the county, likely because of much more testing. Also, one news report says that test positives represent only 10% of cases out there. Another speculates that the cause in the southern states (e.g. FL,TX, AZ) is due to air conditioned offices and stores that recirculate un-filtered air. Reports say A/C introduces on average 15% of new air while the rest is recirculated.

[CedarDave]

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[iamgalt]

BOHICA

[tiki]

I agree about much more testing but in southern NM, I think it is coming in from Mexico. Our processing plant, which is getting product from Mexico is covered up with it.

Our detention center is getting tested weekly.

[LateBoomer]

A first hand report from my mid-sized midwestern city:

During the lockdowns they set up a testing station at a clinic near my home. It was an outdoor drive-through metal structure.

I saw one car there during the entire lockdown, and I was by there at least 3 times a week.

Went to the adjacent clinic for lab test the other day. Line of cars was to the street with more pulling in. Was the same when I left.

Moral: There was very little testing during the lockdowns because criteria were so tight to get one. Many more people are being tested now, so of course, cases are increasing. But most who test positive have either no or few symptoms.

Fool us once, shame on you. Fool us twice, shame on us.

If mass mobs aren’t a problem then neither is getting our country back to work.

[CedarDave]

Lockdowns were originally instituted to prevent hospitals and especially hospital ICU's from becoming overcrowded leading to deaths. That is not happening, even in Texas:

Texas hospital CEO: COVID inpatient count 'misinterpreted,' level of alarm 'unwarranted'

---

Asked if inpatients in the state are tested for COVID-19 whenever they arrive for treatment, Rosales said, "Hospitals set their own protocols for determining when and if to test patients for COVID-19."

She said the state does not keep track of the patients hospitalized with the corona virus versus those hospitalized specifically because of it.

At a virtual press conference on Thursday, the chief executives of Houston Methodist, Memorial Hermann Health System, St. Luke’s Health, and Texas Children’s hospitals stated that their hospitals are well-prepared to handle an even greater increase in patients than that which has emerged over the past few weeks.

The number of hospitalizations are "being misinterpreted," said Houston Methodist CEO Marc Boom, "and, quite frankly, we’re concerned that there is a level of alarm in the community that is unwarranted right now."

"We do have the capacity to care for many more patients, and have lots of fluidity and ability to manage," Boom said.

[CedarDave]

Along with the Balloon Fiesta, the NM State Fair, scheduled Sept. 10-20 in Albuquerque at Expo New Mexico, has been canceled.
https://www.abqjournal.com/1470212/nm-cancels-2020-state-fair.html