Ready, set, reopen! NM to retire pandemic restrictions July 1

Jun. 18—SANTA FE — New Mexico is set to fully reopen on July 1 — with the help of some rounding up to reach a 60% vaccine goal set by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

The Democratic governor said Friday the state's push to vaccinate residents against COVID-19 would continue despite the long-awaited reopening.

"Frankly, we need to be better than 60% fully vaccinated," Lujan Grisham said in a statement. "The variants across the globe and in the U.S. present very serious risks to unvaccinated people, even young people.

State health officials also said that expected vaccine data from Texas and the federal Indian Health Service meant New Mexico was likely within the "margin of error" for the 60% fully vaccinated target, with Department of Health data showing 59.4% of eligible residents had completed their vaccine shots as of Friday.

The governor had set the goal of vaccinating 60% of adult residents by the end of Thursday — a target she said would allow the state to fully reopen July 1 since the vaccines can take two weeks to be fully effective.

However, reaching the goal has proven to be difficult, with vaccination rates in some New Mexico counties — many located in the state's more conservative east side — still hovering at less than 40%.

In an attempt to reverse a slowdown in the state's vaccine administration rate, the Lujan Grisham administration in recent weeks announced financial incentives that included a $100 cash offer to anyone who completes their vaccine shots.

In addition, New Mexico followed the lead of other states like Ohio and Oregon and launched a $10 million lottery sweepstakes for vaccinated individuals. Four initial winners of $250,000 were set to be picked Friday, one from each region of New Mexico.

Meanwhile, the removal of mass gathering restrictions, restaurant capacity limits and a color-coded risk system for counties will come nearly 16 months — or 476 days to be exact — after Lujan Grisham first declared a public health emergency as the first cases of COVID-19 surfaced in New Mexico.

The restrictions currently in place for all 33 New Mexico counties include limiting restaurants to 75% of capacity indoors and on patios and barring more than six patrons from sitting at the same table. The state's public health order also bans public gatherings of more than 150 people.

The pandemic has raised questions about the governor's legal authority to impose business restrictions and spend emergency dollars, but court challenges filed against the governor have been unsuccessful to date.

"I know some will say this day is late in coming," Lujan Grisham said Friday. "I sure wish we'd gotten here sooner."

"I said all along: Vaccines are the way out, getting shots gets us there quicker," the governor added. "We were always going to put health and safety first. All along we have taken the approach that will protect the most New Mexicans, knowing the unique health risks of our population, understanding and respecting how dangerous this virus is.

While pandemic-related business restrictions will be eliminated July 1, top health officials have said they expect New Mexico will keep in place an emergency public health order of some kind even after lifting the color-coded system.

Human Services Secretary David Scrase has said a face mask requirement for unvaccinated individuals may remain in place, and businesses, Native American tribes and other entities will be able to continue mandating masks for employees, customers and visitors at their discretion, according to the Governor's Office.

More than 30 other states have already fully reopened by eliminating pandemic-related business restrictions and curfews, including New Mexico's neighboring states of Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma and Utah.