SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – The virus is winning in New Mexico, according to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. Tuesday, the state announced that they are cracking down on indoor dining, retail stores, and any businesses where the virus COVID-19 keeps spreading repeatedly.
Effective Friday, October 23, if a business records four rapid responses in a 14-day period, the business must close for two full weeks. This applies to food and drink establishments, retail establishments, places of lodging, and close-contact businesses as defined in the public health order. Friday, all retail spaces are to close by 10 p.m. every night. State-operated museums and historical sites will also close.
The governor says restaurants remain a top source of spread according to contract tracers. Also, before you visit one, the state is now going to make it easier for people to find out if the business has had a high number of rapid responses by publishing a “watchlist.”
Secretary for the Human Services Department, Dr. David Scrase, says the biggest concern is 81% of general hospital beds are taken. “One of the problems is we’re most full in Albuquerque, which is our referral center for the state. So as we transfer patients in from rural hospitals to the center of the state, we’re quite full for the most part,” said Dr. Scrase.
