SANTA FE - The Department of Health (DOH) urges New Mexicans to avoid large New Year’s Eve gatherings and use safe practices if gathering with others outside of their household.
Yesterday, COVID-19 cases in New Mexico continued to steeply rise with 2,200 new cases reported and increasing numbers of the highly infectious Omicron variant. Among the most recent COVID deaths were several individuals in their 40s. Hospitals continue to be in crisis standards of care, which means they are stretched beyond their usual capacity due to hospitalizations for COVID.
You can protect yourself and those you love from COVID:
- Avoid large gatherings and consider spending New Year’s Eve with household members only.
- If you are attending or hosting a gathering, remember that outdoor settings are safer than indoors. Avoid crowded, poorly ventilated spaces.
- Wear a well-fitting mask over your nose and mouth in public indoor settings, even if you are vaccinated.
- Maintain social distancing of at least 6 feet.
- Wash your hands frequently with soap and water or alcohol gel.
- If you are sick, do not host or attend a gathering.
- If you do attend a gathering, consider taking a home test before joining indoor gatherings with others who are not in your household. These tests are available at pharmacies. Free Vault home testing kits are currently limited due to national shortages, and the state is working to procure additional tests as soon as possible.
· A positive self-test result means that the test detected the virus, and you are very likely to have an infection and should stay home or isolate for 10 days, wear a mask if you could have contact with others, and avoid indoor gatherings to reduce the risk of spreading disease to someone else. If you have risk factors for severe COVID, you should seek outmonoclonal antibody treatment.
· A negative self-test result means that the test did not detect the virus and you may not have an infection, but it does not rule out infection. Repeating the test within a few days, with at least 24 hours between tests, will increase the confidence that you are not infected.
· For more information, visit the CDC’s Self-Testing Website (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/testing/self-testing.html)
New Mexicans who are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 or have been exposed to a COVID-positive person should get tested immediately. Testing sites are listed at findatestNM.org. Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, chills, repeated shaking with chills, gastrointestinal illness and new loss of taste or smell.
Vaccinations remain the best way for New Mexicans to protect themselves and their loved ones from COVID-19. The vaccines are safe, highly effective, and free. Booster shots will also help protect against the new Omicron variant, and DOH encourages everyone 16 and older to get a booster shot as soon as possible. Children over the age of five who have not yet been vaccinated should start their two-shot series immediately.
To find vaccine locations near you, visit vaccinenm.org or call NMDOH’s COVID-19 hotline at 1-855-600-3453, available every day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Language assistance is available.
Information from the New Mexico Department of Health.