By Etta Pettijohn

The New Mexico legislature created an advisory redistricting commission on the last day of the session, hoping to avoid an expensive court challenge like the one that cost the state $7 million in legal fees in 2010, the last year lawmakers created voting district maps.

The measure creating the Commission is awaiting Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's signature. Those wanting to comment on the proposed bi-partisan body -- which would develop proposed redistricting plans for the state's voting districts – should contact the governor's office at (505) 476-2200 to express their wishes concerning Senate Bill 304.

If the governor signs the measure the majority and minority leadership in the state House and Senate will appoint four of the seven members on the commission. The New Mexico Ethics Commission will select two members, who cannot be registered Republicans or Democrats, and the chairperson, who must be a retired state Supreme Court justice or appeals court judge.

Seven additional COVID-19 deaths

SANTA FE – New Mexico state health officials on Tuesday announced 148 additional COVID-19 cases. Per the state Department of Health, the most recent cases are:

58 new cases in Bernalillo County
1 new case in Catron County
3 new cases in Chaves County
1 new case in Cibola County
37 new cases in Doña Ana County
6 new cases in Eddy County
1 new case in Guadalupe County
1 new case in McKinley County
3 new cases in Otero County
1 new case in Roosevelt County
25 new cases in Sandoval County
3 new cases in San Juan County
3 new cases in Santa Fe County
2 new cases in Socorro County
2 new cases in Valencia County
1 new case among individuals held by federal agencies at the Cibola County Correctional Center

The Department of Health on Tuesday reported seven additional deaths in New Mexico related to COVID-19:

Zero additional COVID-19 deaths

SANTA FE – New Mexico state health officials on Monday announced 182 additional COVID-19 cases. Per the state Department of Health, the most recent cases are:

54 new cases in Bernalillo County
2 new cases in Chaves County
2 new cases in Cibola County
1 new case in Colfax County
2 new cases in Curry County
52 new cases in Doña Ana County
2 new cases in Eddy County
1 new case in Hidalgo County
1 new case in Lea County
3 new cases in Los Alamos County
3 new cases in Luna County
1 new case in McKinley County
3 new cases in Otero County
1 new case in Rio Arriba County
25 new cases in Sandoval County
10 new cases in San Juan County
1 new case in San Miguel County
7 new cases in Santa Fe County
3 new cases in Taos County
4 new cases in Torrance County
4 new cases in Valencia County

The Department of Health on Monday reported zero additional deaths in New Mexico related to COVID-19:

The number of deaths of New Mexico residents related to COVID-19 is now 3,925.

The ten ZIP codes across the state with the most COVID-19 cases on Monday, Mar. 29 are:

88001 - 32
88011 - 10
87124 - 9
87114 - 8
87144 - 7
87105 - 6
87120 - 6
87104 - 5
87035 - 4
87048 - 4

Daily case counts and test numbers are raw data based on information the state receives today - meaning data that has not yet been scrutinized to identify potential duplicates or late-arriving positives or negatives. By contrast, the Red Yellow Green county-level analysis provides a highly accurate picture for a two-week period of time.

Including the above newly reported cases, New Mexico has now had a total of 191,230 COVID-19 cases:

Bernalillo County: 54,545
Catron County: 83
Chaves County: 8,730
Cibola County: 2,813
Colfax County: 722
Curry County: 5,035
De Baca County: 133
Doña Ana County: 23,788
Eddy County: 6,657
Grant County: 1,613
Guadalupe County: 376
Harding County: 9
Hidalgo County: 353
Lea County: 8,190
Lincoln County: 1,586
Los Alamos County: 499
Luna County: 3,229
McKinley County: 12,140
Mora County: 168
Otero County: 3,609
Quay County: 427
Rio Arriba County: 3,469
Roosevelt County: 1,863
Sandoval County: 11,320
San Juan County: 13,730
San Miguel County: 1,314
Santa Fe County: 9,843
Sierra County: 710
Socorro County: 1,242
Taos County: 1,611
Torrance County: 679
Union County: 244
Valencia County: 6,396

County totals are subject to change upon further investigation and determination of residency of individuals positive for COVID-19.

The Department of Health currently reports the following numbers of COVID-19 cases among individuals held by federal agencies at the following facilities:

Cibola County Correctional Center: 446
Otero County Federal Prison Facility: 443
Otero County Processing Center: 198
Torrance County Detention Facility: 47

The Department of Health currently reports the following numbers of COVID-19 cases among individuals held by the New Mexico Corrections Department at the following facilities:

Central New Mexico Correctional Facility in Valencia County: 292
Guadalupe County Correctional Facility: 251
Lea County Correctional Facility: 759
Northeast New Mexico Correctional Facility in Union County: 167
Northwest New Mexico Correctional Center in Cibola County: 126
Otero County Prison Facility: 472
Penitentiary of New Mexico in Santa Fe County: 217
Roswell Correctional Center: 230
Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility in Doña Ana County: 230
Springer Correctional Center in Colfax County: 151
Western New Mexico Correctional Facility in Cibola County: 75

As of today, there are 99 individuals hospitalized in New Mexico for COVID-19. This number may include individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 out of state but are currently hospitalized in New Mexico. This number does not include New Mexicans who tested positive for COVID-19 and may have been transferred to a hospital out of state.

As of today, there are 173,497 COVID-19 cases designated as having recovered by the New Mexico Department of Health.

The Department of Health has identified at least one positive COVID-19 case in residents and/or staff in the past 28 days at the following long-term care facilities:

Advanced Health Care in Albuquerque
Albuquerque Heights Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center
Avamere at Fiesta Park in Albuquerque
Bear Canyon Rehabilitation Center in Albuquerque
BeeHive Homes Farmington
Casa del Sol Center in Las Cruces
Casa Sandia in Albuquerque
Clovis Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Clovis
Desert Springs Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Hobbs
Good Life Senior Living in Carlsbad
Good Samaritan Society – Betty Dare in Alamogordo
Lakeview Christian Home in Carlsbad
La Vida Llena Assisted Living in Albuquerque
Mission Arch Center in Roswell
The Montecito in Santa Fe
The Neighborhood in Rio Rancho Assisted Living in Rio Rancho
Pacifica Senior Living in Santa Fe
Princeton Place in Albuquerque
Retirement Ranches in Clovis
The Rio at Las Estancias in Albuquerque
Santa Fe Care Center in Santa Fe
Suites at Rio Vista in Rio Rancho
Vecinos Sanos Assisted Living in Santa Rosa

The Department of Health has detected community spread in the state of New Mexico and is investigating cases with no known exposure. The agency reports that 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 have been 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. New Mexicans are strongly urged to limit travel to only what is necessary for health, safety and welfare.

The New Mexico Department of Health has active investigations into the positive patients, which includes contact-tracing and swabs of symptomatic individuals who have had contact with the positive cases.

Every New Mexican must work together to stem the spread of COVID-19. Stay home, especially if you are sick. Wear a mask or face covering when in public and around others.

New Mexicans who report symptoms of COVID-19 infection, such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, and/or loss of taste or smell should call their health care provider or the NMDOH COVID-19 hotline immediately (1-855-600-3453).

The Department of Health strongly encourages the following groups to get tested:

Symptomatic people displaying the COVID-19 symptoms of fever, cough, shortness of breath, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, and/or loss of taste or smell;
Asymptomatic people who are close contacts or household members of people in their infectious period who have already tested positive for the coronavirus;
Asymptomatic people who live or work in congregate settings such as long-term care facilities and group homes;
Patients who are scheduled for surgery and whose provider has advised them to get tested before the procedure.

New Mexicans who have non-health-related questions or concerns can also call 833-551-0518 or visit newmexico.gov, which is being updated regularly as a one-stop source for information for families, workers and others affected by and seeking more information about COVID-19.

By Roger Lanse

A Silver City Police Department officer was dispatched to a residence at 2414 Village Drive on Thursday, Mar. 25, at approximately 10:48 p.m., in reference to an unwanted subject complaint. The officer had been advised that a male, later identified as Anthony Alviso, 34, of Silver City, was refusing to leave the residence. The officer had also been advised that Alviso's dog had bitten the homeowner, Gregorio Galindo, 37, of the address.

Speaking to the two men, according to an SCPD report narrative, the officer determined that Galindo, when attempting to physically remove Alviso from the residence, sustained a 'large laceration' near his left elbow from Alviso's dog, a white pitbull. Galindo stated Alviso had been staying at the residence 'off and on' during the past week.

Zero additional COVID-19 deaths

SANTA FE – New Mexico state health officials on Sunday announced 167 additional COVID-19 cases. Per the state Department of Health, the most recent cases are:

50 new cases in Bernalillo County
5 new cases in Chaves County
2 new cases in Cibola County
1 new case in Colfax County
3 new cases in Curry County
19 new cases in Doña Ana County
9 new cases in Eddy County
5 new cases in Grant County
2 new cases in Guadalupe County
5 new cases in Lea County
2 new cases in Luna County
2 new cases in McKinley County
12 new cases in Otero County
1 new case in Rio Arriba County
11 new cases in Sandoval County
9 new cases in San Juan County
1 new case in San Miguel County
10 new cases in Santa Fe County
2 new cases in Socorro County
2 new cases in Taos County
2 new cases in Torrance County
9 new cases in Valencia County
2 new cases among New Mexico Corrections Department inmates at the Penitentiary of New Mexico in Santa Fe County
1 new case among New Mexico Corrections Department inmates at the Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility in Doña Ana County

The Department of Health on Sunday reported zero additional deaths in New Mexico related to COVID-19.

CRITICAL FIRE CONDITIONS POSSIBLE TUESDAY... .Westerly winds will be on the increase Tuesday as zonal flow over the region increases and a surface low intensifies over south- central New Mexico. The westerly winds will bring in very dry air dropping relative humidities into the single digits for the lowlands with some teens in area mountains. By mid afternoon, winds will be in the 20 to 25 mph range and combine with the dry air to create critical fire weather conditions

NEW MEXICO FIRE WEATHER ZONE 110
SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS/GILA NF/APACHE NF/GLZ-
NEW MEXICO FIRE WEATHER ZONE 111
SOUTHWEST DESERTS AND LOWLANDS/LAS CRUCES BLM/GLZ-
NEW MEXICO FIRE WEATHER ZONE 112
SOUTH CENTRAL LOWLANDS AND SOUTHERN RIO GRANDE VALLEY/BLM/GLZ-
NEW MEXICO FIRE WEATHER ZONE 113
CAPITAN AND SACRAMENTO MOUNTAINS/LINCOLN NF/LNZ-
TEXAS FIRE WEATHER ZONE 055
EL PASO COUNTY-TEXAS FIRE WEATHER ZONE 056
HUDSPETH COUNTY-