New Mexico COVID-19 Cases: 4,493

New Mexico health officials today announced 204 additional positive tests for COVID-19, bringing the state total to 4,493.

San Juan and McKinley counties had the greatest number of new cases, 77 and 65 respectively, continuing a trend in the hard-hit northwestern portion of the state. Bernalillo County had 32 new cases. A breakdown of new cases and statewide cases is available at the end of this story.

The state also reported three new deaths from COVID-19, two in McKinley County and one in Bernalillo County. The total number of fatalities is now 172, and one previous death reported in Bernalillo County was determined to be a Torrance County resident.

As of today, 197 people are hospitalized in New Mexico. * The health department has designated 1,125 COVID-19 cases as recovered.

With ongoing concerns in McKinley County, the governor today extended for the second time a lock-down in Gallup following a second request from Gallup Mayor Louis Bonaguidi. The emergency order, issued under the state's Riot Control Act, now includes a new provision requested by Bonaguidi requiring Gallup residents to wear at least a cloth face-covering when they are in an essential business, nonprofit or government building.

US Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-New Mexico, who represents the 3rd Congressional District where Gallup is located, tells SFR via phone that he has visited with Bonaguidi since the latter took office on May 1, having "some of the toughest first days that any mayor could have," he said.

Lujan also said he had spoken directly to National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci about the challenges facing the northwestern part of New Mexico, the Navajo Nation and Gallup—which include inadequate testing and hospital beds, he said. "I asked Dr. Fauci to make sure this was part of his advocacy when he was at the table with the [White House Coronavirus Task Force] and he assured me that he would."

The Gallup order also requires businesses continue to be closed from 8 pm to 5 am; only two people may travel together in a car; and Gallup residents should remain at home except for emergency outings through noon Sunday, May 10. An emergency declaration made under the Riot Control Act is in effect until noon the third day after it becomes effective.

Roads into Gallup will remain closed for non-residents until 8 pm, Friday, May 8.

The Washington Post yesterday covered Gallup's lockdown, contrasting it with Grant Mayor Martin "Modey" Hicks' opposition to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's emergency orders.

"The disparate reactions from two mayors within the same region of a single state reflect America's ever-widening gulf in the struggle against the coronavirus," The Washington Post writes. "As the country attempts to navigate its way out of a pandemic without slipping into full economic depression, every state, city and county leader is making his or her own determinations about how to weigh the threats."

New cases

• 32 new cases in Bernalillo County
• 1 new case in Chaves County
• 3 new cases in Curry County
• 17 new cases in Doña Ana County
• 65 new cases in McKinley County
• 2 new cases in Rio Arriba County
• 7 new cases in Sandoval County
• 77 new cases in San Juan County

New fatalities

• A male in his 70s from Bernalillo County who had underlying health conditions and was a resident of Uptown Genesis in Albuquerque.
• A male in his 50s from McKinley County who was hospitalized and had underlying medical conditions.
• A male in his 80s from McKinley County who was a resident of the Little Sisters of the Poor facility in Gallup.

Congregate living facilities