Six COVID-19 deaths in Eddy County last week brought the total of deaths to 211, the New Mexico Department of Health (DOH) said.
DOH said the deaths involved Eddy County elderly residents as three men in their 70s died. The three were hospitalized at the time of their deaths and one had underlying medical conditions, DOH cited in separate news releases.
A man in his 80s, who was hospitalized with underlying medical conditions, and a woman in her 70s died on Nov. 10. She was also hospitalized at the time of her death, according to DOH.
DOH reported a 30-day delayed death of an Eddy County woman in her 80s on Nov. 12. She had underlying medical conditions.
“COVID-19-related deaths are reported when a death certificate has been issued and some death certificates are delayed due to insufficient information,” DOH said in a news release.
More:The Church has failed in COVID-19 pandemic
DOH said Eddy County had 168 total new cases last week and the County had a positivity rate of 10.93 percent from Oct. 26 through Nov. 8.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) determined positivity rates as the percentage of positive COVID-19 tests in a county over the past 7 days.
Eddy County’s new cases per 100,000 was 39.70 during the Oct. 26 through Nov. 8 reporting period per DOH data.
“Total new cases refer to a county’s rate of new COVID-19 infections, reported over the past 7 days, per every 100,000 residents,” the CDC website stated.
“To calculate this number, CDC divides the total number of new infections by the total population in that county. CDC multiplies this number by 100,000.”
DOH reported 11,266 total COVID-19 cases in Eddy County as of the morning of Nov. 15 with 122,768 total tests and 10, 426 recovered.
Figures from Artesia General Hospital (AGH) indicated Carlsbad had 7,008 total COVID-19 cases as of Nov. 10 and Artesia had 3,419 total cases.
More:State of New Mexico offers $200M in COVID-19 relief business funds
AGH cited 18 Eddy County residents were hospitalized with COVID-19 symptoms as of Nov. 10. Three were in the northern Eddy County medical facility.
Nine Eddy County residents were on a ventilator as of Nov. 19, read AGH’s website. None were based in Artesia.
COVID-19 cases remained high in Eddy County’s 30 through 39 population with 2,032, DOH’s demographic breakdown stated.
More than 1,500 in the 10 to 19 age category were impacted by COVID-19. Numbers rose to 1,889 in the 20 through 29 demographic, figures stated.
As Eddy County’s population ages, the numbers decreased to 98 for those 90 and older.
Eddy County remained behind New Mexico in COVID-19 vaccination rates.
As of Nov. 12, 84 percent of New Mexicans had at least one dose. Nearly 60 percent of Eddy County residents had at least one shot, per DOH data.
More:Eddy County children 5 to 11 receive COVID-19 vaccine
Seventy-four percent of New Mexicans had both vaccinations and 52 percent of Eddy County had both doses, according to DOH.
Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 or by email at [email protected] or @ArgusMichae on Twitter.
