New Mexico health official predicts decline in coronavirus cases
Jan. 27—The state's leading health administrator predicted Wednesday that even as coronavirus case counts broke records this month, a break might be around the corner.
"Hang in with us another two to four weeks," said Dr. David Scrase, acting secretary of the state Department of Health. "The downturn, when it happens, I hope ... is going to be kind of a harbinger of spring."
In a Zoom news conference, Scrase stressed the importance of protecting oneself by getting home tests, good masks, vaccinations and booster shots.
"We're getting really, really close to the peak," he said. "I think we'll get over the hump, but we'll need your help to get over the hump."
Living with the threat of the coronavirus now means taking it upon oneself to acquire all of the weapons available, Scrase said.
While that has meant vaccines and booster shots before, he emphasized that N95 and KN95 masks block the omicron variant effectively and that home tests acquired from the federal government, state government or elsewhere can help prevent the spread of the disease.
"I think individual responsibility, bringing those tools home," is a key message, he said. Free COVID-19 home tests may be acquired from the federal government at COVIDtests.gov. The state Health Department also is distributing a couple of million free home test kits with the first going to areas with high vulnerability, poverty and caseloads.
Scrase said that even as case counts have risen to record levels, numbers indicate the peak, and decline, in hospitalizations might be days away. A break in the disease's intensity appears to be coming, he said.
The state Health Department reported 4,119 new cases Wednesday and 40 deaths; 15 of the deaths were from more than 30 days ago. The state reports coronavirus deaths when a death certificate is issued, and some certificates are delayed because of insufficient information.
In seven-day snapshots, state case counts declined the week ending Jan. 24 to 36,151, from a seven-day pandemic peak of 38,886 the week ending Jan. 17, according to state epidemiology reports.
Hospitalizations hit 424 over the week ending Jan. 24, up from 357 the week of Jan. 17, state records show. Scrase said he hopes hospitalizations will follow the case count decline within several days. Hospitalizations lag a bit.
Omicron, the dominant variant now, is about 10 times more infectious than the delta variant. But deaths during the omicron epidemic haven't approached the highs of late 2020.
The highs in the state at that time ranged from 40 deaths per day to more than 50.
