Doña Ana County's COVID cases fall 18.8%; New Mexico cases plummet 23.6%
New Mexico reported far fewer coronavirus cases in the week ending Sunday, adding 4,496 new cases. That's down 23.6% from the previous week's tally of 5,881 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.
New Mexico ranked 37th 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 decreased 11.9% from the week before, with 1,010,209 cases reported. With 0.63% of the country's population, New Mexico had 0.45% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 19 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.
Some governments may have delayed reporting across the Labor Day holiday, and people who normally would have been tested might not have been tested then. Week-to-week comparisons may be inaccurate.
Doña Ana County reported 394 cases and three deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 485 cases and one death. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 27,590 cases and 510 deaths.
Luna County reported 38 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 74 cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 3,682 cases and 92 deaths.
Across New Mexico, cases fell in 27 counties, with the best declines in Bernalillo County, with 1,072 cases from 1,342 a week earlier; in Eddy County, with 264 cases from 431; and in San Miguel County, with 132 cases from 249.
>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases
New Mexico ranked 8th among states in share of people receiving at least one shot, with 71.1% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 63.1%, 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 Sunday, New Mexico reported administering another 24,046 vaccine doses, including 10,031 first doses. In the previous week, the state administered 38,569 vaccine doses, including 18,697 first doses. In all, New Mexico reported it has administered 2,697,750 total doses.
Within New Mexico, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Lea County with 630 cases per 100,000 per week; Chaves County with 528; and San Miguel County with 484. 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 1,072 cases; Lea County, with 448 cases; and Doña Ana County, with 394. Weekly case counts rose in five counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Sandoval, Sierra and Mora counties.
In New Mexico, 53 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 47 people were were reported dead.
A total of 239,886 people in New Mexico have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 4,605 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 40,955,201 people have tested positive and 659,970 people have died.
>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States
USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Wednesday, Sept. 8.
Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:
- Last week: 446
- The week before that: 532
- Four weeks ago: 497
Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:
- Last week: 121,201
- The week before that: 128,256
- Four weeks ago: 111,242
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.