SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - New Mexico reported seven new deaths across the state linked to the coronavirus pandemic as the number of people seeking unemployment benefits surged to nearly 80,000.
Health officials said deaths linked to COVID-19 increased to 51, with 1,711 people testing positive.
Two new deaths involving residents of La Vida Llena retirement facility in Albuquerque raised the death toll at the facility to a dozen people. The state attorney general says operators of the facility initially discouraged personnel from wearing personal protective equipment and did not warn medical providers in advance that patients from the retirement community had either tested positive or had been exposed to the virus.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham had no immediate plans to relax social distancing requirements or allow nonessential businesses to reopen, a day after President Donald Trump laid out a road map to gradually reopen the crippled U.S. economy. State Republican Party officials are pressuring Lujan Grisham to relax some restrictions on small nonessential businesses.
Across the state line, Texas announced Friday it would ease restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus, beginning next week with more retail sales via curbside pickup, a resumption of elective surgeries and restored access to state parks.
New Mexico is among the top 10 states for coronavirus testing per capita - and has one of the lowest infection rates per test, according data provided by The Covid Tracking Project.
The number New Mexico residents filing for unemployment benefits amid the coronavirus lockdown has exceeded enrollment during the depths of the Great Recession, officials said Friday.
The Department of Workforce solutions said it received 79,049 certifications for the week ending Thursday from people currently receiving benefits and others in the system who are awaiting determinations on eligibility.
As many as 60,000 people in New Mexico were enrolled in unemployment in the aftermath of the financial crisis that began in 2007 with losses on subprime mortgages.
As businesses began layoffs and furloughs in March, New Mexico’s unemployment rate climbed to 5.9% - from 4.8% in February. The restaurant and lodging industries have been especially hard hit by the coronavirus crisis.
One in four people filing for unemployment during the week ending April 11 worked in accommodations or food-service. Unemployment claims have climbed fastest among young adults - multiplying 15-fold among people 24 and under.
A $600 boost in benefits under the federal coronavirus relief act is expected to arrive automatically through unemployment checks starting the week of April 20. That will raise the maximum weekly benefit to $1,041. The benefit extends through the end of July.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.