Taos County experiences slight increase in COVID infections

COVID-19 community transmission levels in Taos County were moderate last week, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which currently considers the county to have low community levels of the coronavirus.

Hospitalizations due to COVID-19 have decreased. The New Mexico Department of Health reported that, as of Feb. 21, a total of 69 individuals in the state were admitted for inpatient treatment for COVID-19, compared to 74 two weeks prior. Last week, state hospitalization statistics were not available.

According to the CDC, 3.3 percent of Taos County hospital beds were in use by patients with confirmed COVID-19. Since the start of the pandemic in New Mexico, 17.6 percent of those admitted for inpatient treatment for COVID-19 have died as a result of the virus, according to the latest state report from Feb. 13. The last death in Taos County due to COVID-19 was on Feb. 17, bringing the total number of virus fatalities here to 107.

According to the latest Department of Health data from Feb. 14, New Mexico had the sixth-lowest test-positivity rate in the nation at 7.5 percent, while the average test-positivity rate in Taos County for the two-week period ending Feb. 13 was 6.4 percent.

The county logged 18 new confirmed infections over the past week ending Tuesday (Feb. 21), compared to eight new cases the week before. A total of 7,268 Taos County residents have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began in March 2020. Also as of Tuesday, the state had recorded 668,109 reported cases of COVID-19, an increase of 1,161 confirmed infections since Feb. 15. The state clocked 874 new cases the week prior.

As of Tuesday, 9,016 New Mexicans have died due to COVID-19, according to the Department of Health, up from 9,007 the week before. The CDC reported Wednesday (Feb. 15) that COVID-related deaths nationwide continued to trend downward. Also as of Wednesday, however, more than 1,113,000 individuals had died in the U.S. due to COVID-19.

As of Feb. 14, the last date on which state data was updated, New Mexico's vaccination rates have experienced a slight increase compared to the previous four-week period, with 80.6 percent of eligible residents aged 18-64 and 99 percent of those 65 and older having completed their primary series of COVID-19 vaccinations, according to the NMDOH. Just 28.6 percent of adults between the ages of 18 and 64 have received a booster, while 46.3 percent of New Mexicans over the age of 65 have received a booster.

Among 12-17 year-olds in New Mexico, 15.1 percent have received a booster, and 14.9 percent of children aged 5-11 have received a booster. Among children aged 6 months to 4 years, 11.8 percent have received at least one dose of vaccine, with 4.6 percent having completed their primary series.

Sign up to receive the free COVID-19 vaccine at vaccinenm.org, or ask your primary care physician. To request free at-home COVID-19 antigen tests, visit accesscovidtests.org.