San Juan County's COVID cases fall 7.2%; New Mexico cases plummet 13.2%

Mike Stucka USA TODAY NETWORK
·3 min read

New Mexico reported far fewer coronavirus cases in the week ending Sunday, adding 4,823 new cases. That's down 13.2% from the previous week's tally of 5,558 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

New Mexico ranked 15th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States increased 2.3% from the week before, with 795,621 cases reported. With 0.63% of the country's population, New Mexico had 0.61% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, seven states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

San Juan County reported 323 cases and two deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 348 cases and two deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 46,201 cases and 816 deaths.

u0022Share Love, Not Germs,u0022 declared bottles of hand sanitizer at a ceremony for Chris and Suah Yi of Ashland, Massachusetts. Because of COVID-19, the couple's traditional Korean wedding was delayed until three years after their marriage began.
u0022Share Love, Not Germs,u0022 declared bottles of hand sanitizer at a ceremony for Chris and Suah Yi of Ashland, Massachusetts. Because of COVID-19, the couple's traditional Korean wedding was delayed until three years after their marriage began.

MORE>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases​

​ Across New Mexico, cases fell in 24 counties, with the best declines in Bernalillo County, with 1,342 cases from 1,577 a week earlier; in Sandoval County, with 288 cases from 411; and in Doña Ana County, with 677 cases from 795. ​

Within New Mexico, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Quay County with 497 cases per 100,000 per week; McKinley County with 439; and Roosevelt County with 438. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

Adding the most new cases overall were Bernalillo County, with 1,342 cases; Doña Ana County, with 677 cases; and San Juan County, with 323. Weekly case counts rose in eight counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Grant, McKinley and Valencia counties.

In New Mexico, 30 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 36 people were reported dead.

A total of 601,422 people in New Mexico have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 8,312 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 92,927,104 people have tested positive and 1,037,021 people have died.

MORE >> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

New Mexico's COVID-19 hospital admissions rising

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Aug. 14. Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

  • Last week: 427

  • The week before that: 387

  • Four weeks ago: 426

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

  • Last week: 72,082

  • The week before that: 71,315

  • Four weeks ago: 70,906

Hospitals in 13 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 18 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 27 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: San Juan County reported 323 additional COVID-19 cases this week