Sarah Smith
One sunrise ago at 5:10 PM  ·
SUMMARY OF JANUARY 14 NM GOVERNOR’S PRESS CONFERENCE: Here is a summary of today’s press conference by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, as well as my own takeaways.
--MANDATES FOR MASKS, SOCIAL DISTANCING, NO LARGE GATHERINGS WILL BE IN PLACE UNTIL THE MAJORITY OF NEW MEXICANS HAVE BEEN VACCINATED. It is not anticipated that the majority of New Mexicans will be vaccinated until after summer or later.
--It is expected that COVID-19 vaccines will reduce the severity of illness. IT IS NOT KNOWN WHETHER COVID-19 VACCINES WILL ACTUALLY PREVENT TRANSMISSION. Thus, MASKS, SOCIAL DISTANCING, AND NO LARGE GATHERINGS ARE STILL REQUIRED FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN VACCINATED.
--31 OUT OF 33 NM COUNTIES ARE STILL IN RED STATUS, with:
-----NO IN-PERSON PUBLIC SCHOOL
-----25% CAPACITY RESTRICTIONS at churches and most businesses
-----NO INDOOR DINING IN RESTAURANTS, and outdoor dining limited to 25% capacity
-----NO MASS GATHERINGS LARGER THAN 5 PEOPLE
-----NO INDOOR RECREATION, including theaters, bowling alleys, etc (which have been closed since March 2020)
NM has been in a pre-phase 1 reopening state for 10 months now. That is 10 months of NO FAMILY GATHERINGS, NO WEDDINGS, NO FUNERALS, NO SINGING IN CHURCH, NO MOVIES, NO CELEBRATIONS, AND MASKS REQUIRED FOR AGES 3YO+ ANYTIME YOU’RE NOT IN YOUR HOUSE (INCLUDING WALKS AND EXERCISE).
A John Hopkins epidemiologist has estimated it will take 20-30 weeks for our state to consistently move from Red to Yellow. The NM Restaurant Association has estimated that over HALF OF RESTAURANTS WILL FAIL if these restrictions are kept in place.
--CASES ARE EXPERIENCING A SLIGHT UPTICK AFTER A SIGNIFICANT DROP OVER THE LAST MONTH. HOSPITALIZATIONS AND DEATHS ARE STILL DROPPING. NM is currently averaging over 13,000 tests daily. Hospitalizations have dropped by ~200 since the peak in December.
THE GOVERNOR IS STILL CREDITING HER MANDATES FOR THE DECREASED COVID ACTIVITY, DESPITE THE FACT THAT THIS DECREASE WOULD HAVE BEEN EXPECTED from studying the epidemic curves in other states and countries (which generally had a 6-8 week spike). A similar trajectory is currently being seen in other states that do not have mask mandates or lockdowns, such as South Dakota.
--150,000+ DOSES OF COVID-19 HAVE BEEN RECEIVED IN NM. 100,000+ DOSES OF COVID-19 VACCINE HAVE BEEN ADMINISTERED. These vaccines are currently being targeted to groups 1A (healthcare workers and nursing home residents) and 1B (75yo+, high risk people ages 16yo+, and frontline essential workers). It is anticipated that the vaccine will be available to the general public by around the middle of 2021.
--Currently, IN-PERSON LEARNING CANNOT OCCUR UTIL COUNTIES ARE MAINTAINING GREEN STATUS. This goes directly against CDC guidance, which said months ago that schools should be open for in-person learning. These criteria are currently being reviewed by the state and may be changed soon.