State update: 31 of 33 counties in red designation

SANTA FE — The state’s newest data in its “Red to Green” framework has 31 of 33 counties still in the red, but 15 counties showing overall improvements on daily COVID-19 cases and test positivity.

Curry County had 61.4 daily cases and 15.11% test positivity. Roosevelt County was at 62.4 cases and 19.27% test positivity.

The state in December created framework for counties with three different sets of public health orders depending on whether the county met benchmarks of eight daily cases per 100,000 residents and 5% test positivity or lower.

The least stringent green designation is for counties that meet both metrics, with yellow for counties that meet one and red for counties that meet neither.

Harding County, which didn’t record any COVID-19 cases between Dec. 31 and Wednesday, was the only green county in the state.

Union County moved into the red, with 22.7 cases per 100,000 residents and 3.8% test positivity.

Curry and Roosevelt were two of the 16 counties that saw test positivity rates decline.

Roosevelt’s drop from 26.25% on Dec. 30 to 19.27% Wednesday was the fifth-best improvement by percentage, and the daily cases per 100,000 dropped from 94.8 to 62.4. It was one of 12 counties to show improvement in both metrics.

While Curry’s test positivity dropped from 15.3% to 15.11% over the two-week period, it did see a jump in cases per 100,000 — from 43 to 62.4.

Information: cv.nmhealth.org/redtogreen