According to the New Mexico Department of Health Dashboard, Eddy County moved into the Yellow gating criteria on March 10. A positivity rate of 3.79% was reported, along with a “Cases per 100,000” of 16.70.s
Counties at the Yellow level either have a new COVID-19 case rate of eight per 100,000 or less for the previous two weeks or an average percent of positive COVID-19 tests over the most recent 14-day period as less than or equal to 5%. Two weeks ago, Eddy County just missed meeting this second criteria with a 5.85% positivity rate.
According the state, the Yellow level means food and drink establishments who are NM Safe Certified can open at 33% capacity for indoor dining, effective immediately. Other retail and close-contact businesses can open at 33% of maximum capacity and mass gatherings are limited to 10 individuals or 80 people. It doesn’t mean we are done with COVID-19 or limitations on businesses yet, but it is certainly a great step in the right direction. You can also go from Yellow back to Red, so we need to keep up the momentum in terms of stopping COVID-19. The City of Carlsbad will also be evaluating its own facilities and making changes over the next few days.
On Tuesday, Carlsbad Medical Center reported that they conducted 72 COVID-19 tests the day before and only had one positive. This would be a 1.3 percent positivity rate, at least for that day from that location, but it is hopefully a sign of continued good news.
According to the NMDOT’s vaccine dashboard, 18.9 percent of eligible Eddy County residents (16 and over) have now received at least one dose of vaccine. The state reports that 8,401 of our residents have received at least their first dose. A clinic at the civic center on Monday went very well and delivered vaccines to several hundred more individuals.
Senator Kernan’s bill calling for college independence did receive approval on the Senate floor earlier this week, by a commanding vote of 39-2. Senator Kernan’s bill is now on the House side, while Rep. Brown’s matching bill is now on the Senate side. The bills will now have to work their way up through the other side of the legislative body, but the strong support they’ve received so far should help move things more quickly. You can still help us out by signing the petition in support of independence. New Mexico legislators have directly asked for evidence of community support, so your signature really has a great deal of value. You can sign the online petition at the “Journey to Becoming SENM College” Facebook page and there are several print versions circulating around town.
There have been multiple reports of possible scams in the community lately, including reports to the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office of people claiming they have warrants. The caller then requested that the individual send prepaid card numbers to take care of the warrant. The Sheriff’s Department will not call you to request that you take care of a warrant with prepaid card numbers. Please be very cautious about giving any personal or bank information out over the phone or online. If you receive any suspicious calls or visits, please contact the Carlsbad Police Department or the Eddy County Sheriff’s Department.
Sincerely,
Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway