Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
CLOVIS — No one in New Mexico had tested positive for coronavirus, at least as of Saturday. But it was in 28 states and the number of confirmed cases, and deaths, continue to rise around the nation.
That’s why the New Mexico Department of Health was on hand Friday in Clovis to update residents on novel coronavirus and how to prepare.
“We are encouraging people to take this seriously,” State Epidemiologist Dr. Michael Landen said, “but not to panic.”
The Friday afternoon forum at the Clovis-Carver Public Library was the third in two days for the department staff, which held similar forums in Las Cruces on Thursday night and in Roswell on Friday morning.
“The Department of Health’s No. 1 priority,” DOH Promotion Program Manager Jimmy Masters said, “is to protect the health of all New Mexicans, which is why we’re here.“
The department has also scheduled a conference call for Thursday with businesses to provide updates on the virus and field questions, and the department website at nmhealth.org has a page dedicated to the virus.
About 50 people attended Friday’s forum, ranging from inquiring residents to healthcare professionals to business leaders whose employees frequently interact with the public.
Masters said of those who contract Covid-19, also known as novel coronavirus, 81%, have mild symptoms not much different from seasonal influenza — fever, cough, shortness of breath. The death rate is about 2% based on available information. Only about 2% of people who contract the virus are under age 18.
Landen spoke for much of the forum and answered most of the audience questions.
The New York Times reported Saturday morning that 308 people were confirmed to have Covid-19 illness in 28 states with at least 17 deaths. There were 19 cases in Texas, eight in Colorado, three in Arizona, two in Utah and one in Oklahoma. A map of the confirmed cases showed none within 100 miles of the New Mexico border.
The state had performed 16 tests so far at its state lab in Albuquerque, with all coming back negative. People selected for the test ranged from people who traveled to the four countries the virus is most common (China, South Korea, Italy and Iran), people with respiratory problems and no prior history of such and people with mild sickness that is not seasonal influenza.
For people who have traveled to those four countries, Landen said the department establishes contact within two weeks of their travel and follows up with daily calls and advice to get treatment if they feel at all sick.
While New Mexico went into the weekend free of cases, Landen said the department is planning for community spread, which means a contracted case can’t be traced to a source outside of the state. Those preparations include weekly checks with hospitals for supplies and open beds, establishing a phone hotline for questions and locating alternate sites for expanded outpatient care.
In case of the virus’ arrival and spread, Landen said the department would urge “social distancing,” meaning avoidance of large gatherings and a push to handle business via conference calls — even if the people are in the same building.
As with any other sickness, department staff cautioned against going to work while sick and “powering through.”
“People need to stay home if they get the virus,” Landen said. “Most people would be staying at home treating themselves, because they’d face mild illness.”
Questions fielded by department staff included:
• How the department is handling Cannon Air Force Base, given its overseas missions: Landen said the Department of Defense is doing its own monitoring, but that communication in the coming weeks wasn’t a bad idea.
• What long-term care facilities can do in preparation: Landen said those facilities will face the toughest challenges because the elderly population is most susceptible and anti-viral medications aren’t effective prevention measures.
• How is the test done: Tests are normally simple nose or throat swabs.
• Concerns the virus is airborne: Landen said there’s no evidence of that, but airborne disease protocol is being followed just in case. A disinfectant spray won’t do much to neutralize an airborne virus.
• Test kit turnaround time: Normally four hours, Landen said, but high-priority tests can be done faster.
• Precautions people who handle money can take: So far, Landen said, there’s no evidence the virus spreads through surfaces and touching church pews or handling money shouldn’t be high-risk actions.
• What are the chances of closing schools or canceling extracurricular activities: Landen said based on the low youth infection rates, it didn’t seem like closing elementary schools would make much impact. Sporting events where adults gather would be another consideration, and Landen noted colleges in some states with higher infection rates have moved to online instruction as a precaution.