San Juan County's COVID-19 cases up 121.3%; New Mexico cases surge 45.6%
FARMINGTON — New coronavirus cases leaped in New Mexico in the week ending Sunday, rising 45.6% as 3,199 cases were reported. The previous week had 2,197 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.
New Mexico ranked 29th 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.
San Juan County reported 135 cases and six deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 61 cases and three deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 41,078 cases and 761 deaths.
Within New Mexico, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in De Baca County with 286 cases per 100,000 per week; Santa Fe County with 285; and Rio Arriba County with 265. The Centers for Disease Control 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 1,257 cases; Santa Fe County, with 428 cases; and Sandoval County, with 309. Weekly case counts rose in 26 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Bernalillo, Santa Fe and Sandoval counties.
In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States increased 31.8% from the week before, with 796,108 cases reported. With 0.63% of the country's population, New Mexico had 0.4% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 42 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.
MORE >>See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases
New Mexico ranked 9th among states in share of people receiving at least one shot, with 87.7% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 77.7%, a USA TODAY analysis of CDC data shows. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are the most used in the United States, require two doses administered a few weeks apart.
In the week ending Wednesday, New Mexico reported administering another 22,940 vaccine doses, including 4,332 first doses. In the previous week, the state administered 25,827 vaccine doses, including 4,189 first doses. In all, New Mexico reported it has administered 3,946,642 total doses.
Across New Mexico, cases fell in five counties, with the best declines in Rio Arriba County, with 103 cases from 126 a week earlier; in Otero County, with 30 cases from 35; and in De Baca County, with 5 cases from 8.
In New Mexico, 68 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 51 people were reported dead.
A total of 529,336 people in New Mexico have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 7,675 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 83,281,329 people have tested positive and 1,002,173 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, May 22.
Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:
- Last week: 338
- The week before that: 304
- Four weeks ago: 298
Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:
- Last week: 53,333
- The week before that: 49,215
- Four weeks ago: 39,443
Hospitals in 31 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 29 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 37 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.