NM reports 148 new infections, seven deaths

Those who died range in age from 20s to 100s; state’s case rate among the lowest

An Eddy County woman in her 20s and a Chaves County woman in her 100s are among the latest New Mexico COVID-19 patients to die, according to the state Department of Health.

Officials reported the women’s deaths among seven new coronavirus-related fatalities announced Tuesday.

The most recent casualties also include residents of Doña Ana, Lincoln, McKinley and Otero counties who ranged in age from their 50s to 90s. They bring the state’s virusrelated death toll to 3,932.

Tuesday’s report from the New Mexico Department of Health also includes 148 new COVID-19 infections. New Mexico’s seven-day case average is now 188, according to a Journal analysis.

New Mexico’s per capita case rate over the last week is among the lowest in the U.S., according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data tracker. New Mexico and Oklahoma were tied as of Tuesday afternoon, with only 10 states faring better.

On Tuesday, 110 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 around the state, the Health Department reported.

While New Mexico’s numbers are well below their peak, the state’s top health official on Tuesday urged New Mexicans to celebrate Holy Week safely.

“Please stay home or gather only with those in your immediate family,” Health Secretary Dr. Tracie Collins said in a statement. “By making sacrifices now, we will bring this pandemic to a close much sooner, and then we will be able to take up our cherished traditions once again.”