SANTA FE –The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) and the City of Albuquerque report today an outbreak of COVID-19 at the La Vida Llena long-term care facility in Albuquerque where two residents have died, and 19 residents and three staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 with additional test results still pending.

The resident deaths consist of a man in his 90s and a man in his 80s, both had underlying health conditions. The man in his 90s died yesterday, April 2; the other in his 80s died early this morning. 

“We are collaborating with the facility to complete testing of the residents and staff,” NMDOH Cabinet Secretary Kathy Kunkel. “We are also working together on identifying their recent contacts to determine the need for additional testing.”

"We continue our vigilance with respect to nursing homes," said City of Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller. "Our Environmental Health Department is working with the New Mexico Department of Health to make sure people are following self-isolation guidance and that all state health regulations are being followed in these high-risk facilities."

Older adults, ages 65 and older and people of any age who have serious underlying medical conditions are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19. This is includes people with: 

  • Chronic lung disease or moderate to severe asthma
  • Serious heart conditions
  • Conditions that can cause a person to be immunocompromised, including cancer treatment, smoking, bone marrow or organ transplantation, immune deficiencies, poorly controlled HIV or AIDS, and prolonged use of corticosteroids and other immune weakening medications.
  • Severe obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 40 or higher)
  • Diabetes
  • Chronic kidney disease and who are undergoing dialysis
  • Liver disease

Given the infectious nature of the virus, it is likely other residents are infected but yet to be tested or confirmed positive. To that end, all New Mexicans continue to be instructed to stay home except for outings absolutely necessary for health, safety and welfare. These additional restrictions have been enacted to aggressively minimize person-to-person contact and ensure spread is mitigated. All businesses except those deemed essential have been ordered to close. New Mexicans are strongly urged to limit travel to only what is necessary for health, safety and welfare.

New Mexico residents are asked to continue to protect themselves and others from this virus by following the basics: wash hands often, clean and disinfect surfaces, avoid close contact – via social distancing of at least 6 feet and/or staying home as much as possible, cover coughs and sneezes and wear non-medial facemasks if you are sick. 

Residents with health-related questions can call our coronavirus hotline at 855-600-3453. For non-health-related questions or concerns call 833-551-0518 or visit newmexico.gov, which is being updated and finalized as a one-stop source for information.

The New Mexico Department of Health also updates its dedicated COVID-19 webpage​ daily with additional tests as the state lab provides results.

Content on the Beat

WARNING: All articles and photos with a byline or photo credit are copyrighted to the author or photographer. You may not use any information found within the articles without asking permission AND giving attribution to the source. Photos can be requested and may incur a nominal fee for use personally or commercially.

Disclaimer: If you find errors in articles not written by the Beat team but sent to us from other content providers, please contact the writer, not the Beat. For example, obituaries are always provided by the funeral home or a family member. We can fix errors, but please give details on where the error is so we can find it. News releases from government and non-profit entities are posted generally without change, except for legal notices, which incur a small charge.

NOTE: If an article does not have a byline, it was written by someone not affiliated with the Beat and then sent to the Beat for posting.

Images: We have received complaints about large images blocking parts of other articles. If you encounter this problem, click on the title of the article you want to read and it will take you to that article's page, which shows only that article without any intruders. 

New Columnists: The Beat continues to bring you new columnists. And check out the old faithfuls who continue to provide content.

Newsletter: If you opt in to the Join GCB Three Times Weekly Updates option above this to the right, you will be subscribed to email notifications with links to recently posted articles.

Submitting to the Beat

Those new to providing news releases to the Beat are asked to please check out submission guidelines at https://www.grantcountybeat.com/about/submissions. They are for your information to make life easier on the readers, as well as for the editor.

Advertising: Don't forget to tell advertisers that you saw their ads on the Beat.

Classifieds: We have changed Classifieds to a simpler option. Check periodically to see if any new ones have popped up. Send your information to editor@grantcountybeat.com and we will post it as soon as we can. Instructions and prices are on the page.

Editor's Notes

It has come to this editor's attention that people are sending information to the Grant County Beat Facebook page. Please be aware that the editor does not regularly monitor the page. If you have items you want to send to the editor, please send them to editor@grantcountybeat.com. Thanks!

Here for YOU: Consider the Beat your DAILY newspaper for up-to-date information about Grant County. It's at your fingertips! One Click to Local News. Thanks for your support for and your readership of Grant County's online news source—www.grantcountybeat.com

Feel free to notify editor@grantcountybeat.com if you notice any technical problems on the site. Your convenience is my desire for the Beat.  The Beat totally appreciates its readers and subscribers!  

Compliance: Because you are an esteemed member of The Grant County Beat readership, be assured that we at the Beat continue to do everything we can to be in full compliance with GDPR and pertinent US law, so that the information you have chosen to give to us cannot be compromised.