New Mexico An "Island" In COVID-19 Positivity Rate

Data on coronavirus infections are showing that the state of New Mexico is an "island" compared to surrounding states.

According to the Santa Fe New Mexican:

Last month in Arizona, a staggering 1 in 4 people tested for COVID-19 received a positive result. 

Currently in Texas, it’s about 1 in 6. 

Yet in New Mexico, the numbers are very different. About 1 in 30 tests is coming back positive. 

The state is performing much better than its neighbors on a key coronavirus metric called the test positivity rate, which measures how many people who get COVID-19 tests turn out to have the disease. 

The statistic is an indication that New Mexico is proving itself to be a safer island — epidemiologically speaking — in a sea of states doing a poorer job of monitoring and controlling the virus. 

It also helps explain why officials were able to report a steep decline in the state’s COVID-19 transmission rate Thursday, just several weeks after New Mexico experienced a troubling surge. 

“We’ve had a couple of peaks, and hopefully we’re through a big part of the second peak,” said state Human Services Secretary David Scrase, a main figure leading the state’s efforts against the novel coronavirus. 

Test positivity rates are gaining more visibility nationwide as health officials look to them as a key factor in making decisions on reopening the economy. Unlike the rate of new cases or hospitalizations, the positivity metric helps determine whether testing is widespread enough to accurately understand the spread of the virus. 

And among the dizzying trove of COVID-19 statistics being analyzed in New Mexico, this number is taking more prominence: State officials just added it to the list of criteria they use to make policy decisions about reopening the economy, which has taken a severe hit through the crisis. 

While Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has said it’s been difficult to watch the economic hardship, she’s reiterated that her public health mandates have been necessary. 

She recently noted members of the state’s Economic Recovery Council had questioned whether adding the test positivity rate to the state’s gating criteria would be “moving the goal posts” on the metrics used to decide how and when to reopen the economy.

So, in other words, Grisham's "one size fits all" health order approach (instead of targeting "hot spot" areas) will continue despite the good news.

To read the full article, go here.