PED: 45 New Mexico schools on COVID-19 Watchlist

Posted: Dec 18, 2020 / 07:50 PM MST / Updated: Dec 18, 2020 / 07:50 PM MST

SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – The New Mexico Public Education Department reports there are now 45 state public school buildings that appeared on the COVID-19 Watchlist in the week ending on Friday, December 18, 2020. This indicates the schools had at least two rapid responses within a 14-day period.

According to the PED, during this same period, no schools were placed on the Closure List. The New Mexico Environment Department’s Watchlist includes schools and businesses that have two or more rapid responses within 14 days.

Schools with four or more rapid responses in 14 days will be placed on the Closure List and are required to close and according to PED, where appropriate, return instruction to remote-only learning. PED reports that if a public school is required to close because it has four or more rapid responses in a 14-day period, it must remain in remote-only learning mode until its county is in the green zone which is indicated by the Department of Health as showing acceptable control of the virus.

The PED states that only the individual school that reached the four-in-14 threshold would be required to return to remote learning. This means that a school district could have one school closed for in-person learning, another school on the Watchlist, and others that are not impacted.

The schools on the Watchlist include the following:

Albuquerque