N.M. Governor urges residents to avoid gathering as state sees record number of deaths
On a day when the state announced 23 new deaths from COVID-19 — a 64 percent increase from the previous daily record — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham had a grim message for New Mexico residents: Deaths will continue to soar by the year's end.
"There is nothing we can do — nothing — that can change that trajectory."
The governor said residents could still slow the spread of the virus ahead of the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons. But it will require vigilance. She urged New Mexicans to avoid spending time throughout the month with people who do not live in their households, as well as wearing a mask every time they go outside their homes. "This is one of the leading causes of explosion in our state," she said, speaking of personal gatherings of people who do not live together. If voluntary efforts to contain the virus fail, she warned, the state will be forced to take more drastic measures. "There will be no options," Lujan Grisham said, adding residents should expect a new public health order with more stringent restrictions if numbers don't come down.
There are now 400 people hospitalized in the state for treatment of COVID-19, Lujan Grisham said, including 59 on ventilators. The 23 new deaths of New Mexicans were among 79 in the past week, she added, bringing the state's total to 1,082.
"This is the most painful data set we've had to talk about," the governor said. "Uncontrollable community spread is overwhelming hospitals" and leading to "unnecessary deaths," she said. ... "We're already running out of beds."
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