ALBUQUERQUE – Fewer people are being hospitalized now in New Mexico because of COVID-19 infections, according to state data.
The New Mexico Department of Health reported Tuesday there were just more than 460 coronavirus patients in hospitals around the state. The Albuquerque Journal reports that the number marks a drop of more than one-third since Dec. 9, when the state hit an 11-month peak that topped 700 patients.
State health officials and executives with some of New Mexico’s largest health care providers have acknowledged that the majority of patients keeping hospitals busy over recent months have been those with medical emergencies and other illnesses unrelated to COVID-19.
Even before the pandemic, the state also had a very low availability of hospital beds and struggled with recruiting nurses.
New Mexico now also ranks in the bottom half of states when it comes to COVID-19 cases per capita over the last week.
The state also reported 22 additional deaths Tuesday. More than half of them were among people 70 and older and just seven of them happened in the last 30 days. The remainder happened earlier, but death certificates weren’t processed until recently.
Health officials have reported 5,796 coronavirus-related deaths in New Mexico since the pandemic began.
