• Hi everyone. I’m still recovering from the election night (did you see all of our coverage? You can read it here), so apologies if I miss any stories.
  • The past two days were two huge days for cases, with a record 1,141 reported on Tuesday and 1,022 reported on Wednesday. The two days were also among the deadliest for the state with regard to COVID-19, with 9 deaths reported on Tuesday and 14 deaths (the most in a single day) reported on Wednesday.
  • Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and state officials will hold a press conference Thursday at 3 p.m. to discuss COVID-19 in the state.
  • The increase in cases isn’t just in New Mexico. For the first time, the COVID Tracking Project reported over 100,000 new cases in a single day. Hospitalizations and deaths are also growing nationwide.
  • Cases are growing rapidly in prisons, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.
  • The Navajo Nation reported 72 new COVID-19 cases and two new deaths related to the disease on Tuesday and 131 new confirmed cases and no deaths on Wednesday.
    • The Navajo Department of Health said there is once again uncontrolled spread in some communities, KRQE-TV reported.
  • The state is setting up a dozen new COVID-19 testing sites in southern New Mexico, as cases increase in the area. This includes three in Las Cruces, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported.
  • This comes as El Paso County in Texas is getting massive numbers of COVID-19 (3,100 new cases on Wednesday alone) and hospitals are close to the breaking point, KVIA-TV reported.
  • Three workplaces received their first mandatory 14-day closures because of four rapid responses for positive COVID-19 tests among the workforce in a two-week period, the Albuquerque Journal reported. They are: Chaparral Materials in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Deming Manufactured Homes and Stampede Meat Inc. in Sunland Park.
    • See the COVID-19 Rapid Response Watchlist here, which included 134 places of work. These are businesses that have had two or more rapid responses for positive COVID-19 cases over the last 14 days.
  • Hospitalizations have increased in Roswell, the Roswell Daily Recordreported.
  • A staffer at Fort Bayard Medical Center tested positive for COVID-19, the Silver City Daily Press reported.
  • The University of New Mexico football team will be based in Las Vegas, Nevada for the next few weeks to avoid New Mexico’s COVID-19 restrictions, the Santa Fe Reporter reported.
  • The ABQ BioPark Zoo closed temporarily after an employee tested positive for COVID-19, KOB-TV reported.
  • The Silver City Town Council decided not to adopt a curfew to curb the spread of COVID-19, the Silver City Daily Press reported.