COVID cases going back up in New Mexico

Aug. 16—New Mexico's COVID-19 fortunes — which seemed so promising only a few weeks ago — are beginning to darken, state health officials said Wednesday.

Just as health care experts and hospital leaders exhaled in relief in July with a decline in the number of COVID-19 cases, an official with the state Department of Health said New Mexico is now following a national trend of increasing infections.

"The trends will be the same with cases rising and hospitalizations ticking up slowly as well," Health Department spokesman David Barre wrote in an email. "Essentially, we are seeing the same thing in New Mexico that the rest of the country is observing in regard to COVID-19."

State health officials reported 1,204 new COVID-19 cases since Aug. 1, with 550 from Aug. 4 through Aug. 10, the last date for which figures are available. The weekly figure is nearly double the amount of cases reported at the end of July, when health officials declared the worst of the virus to be over.

Thirty-four patients were admitted to state hospitals during the same week, according to health department reports.

Of the total number of new state cases during the same week, 114 were pediatric.

Numbers provided by the Department of Health do not include positive test results from home testing kits. Only labs are required to report positive cases to the agency, Barre said.

The state alone has distributed more than 2 million home testing kits since February 2022. Nationally, 755 million tests have been around the country, including New Mexico.

With cases rising, medical officials are wary about the coming months.

"We do anticipate significant illness from Influenza, RSV, and COVID this winter so vaccination this fall will be critical to keeping our communities safe," Dr. Jason Mitchell, chief medical and clinical transformation officer for Presbyterian Healthcare Services, wrote in an email.

The rise in cases comes at a particularly inopportune time: school has begun throughout New Mexico, with students in Santa Fe reporting to classes Tuesday.

Officials with the Santa Fe Public Schools monitor weekly COVID-19 reports released by state health officials, said district spokesman Cody Dynarski, who added officials are preparing for the upcoming flu, RSV and COVID-19 season by offering students and staff vaccinations and boosters at all school sites.

School officials also are educating school staff on current guidance for managing employees and students who are symptomatic, he said.

At Presbyterian Santa Fe Medical Center, 10 new COVID-19 diagnoses were seen in the emergency department in the last 24 hours, a number which Mitchell said indicates an increase.

People who are higher risk, including those who are immunocompromised, may want to consider masking or avoiding crowded places if numbers continue to increase, he added.

World Health Organization officials this week said newer cases are attributed to the subvariant EG.5, dubbed Eris, a strain of Omicron and "a variant of concern" for its potential to mutate into a more contagious or severe variant.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted a more than 14% uptick in COVID-19-related hospitalizations throughout the country last week.

Mitchell said across Presbyterian facilities, doctors have seen a slight increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations since the beginning of August. In Santa Fe, two patients are hospitalized, but "very few patients in our facilities are requiring ICU level care at this time."

Although CDC national data indicate Eris is now the dominant strain across the country, symptoms are the same as they have been, including sore throat, runny nose, congestion, cough, and fever," Mitchell said.

But for older adults, a more serious threat exists.

"It continues to cause serious illness, especially in older adults and those with weakened immune symptoms," he said.

Dr. David Gonzales, chief medical officer at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in Santa Fe, said doctors admitted three patients last week with COVID-19 diagnoses, although none were critically ill. Hospital health officials are currently awaiting CDC recommendations for immunizations with newer strains, he said.

Mitchell said many people now test at home and if they experience only minor symptoms they should not seek medical care.

Although data suggest the current COVID-19 wave is much smaller than what occurred last summer, Mitchell said Presbyterian officials are still bracing for an increased number of illnesses because of the impending COVID-19, RSV and influenza season. The viruses last year left intensive care units packed with dozens of children intubated.

"We spend a great deal of time preparing for the respiratory illness season," Mitchell said. "This includes tracking data, preparing for and hosting vaccine clinics and providing information to our patients and the general public."

As with recent waves, the best protection is to stay up to date on vaccinations, he said, adding current COVID-19 vaccine rates have significantly dropped, "which puts the community at risk."

Mitchell noted it is also important to test if COVID-19 symptoms are present and to stay home from work or school when sick.