New Mexico overhauls pandemic isolation rules for travelers

New Mexico is allowing two new exceptions to self-quarantine requirements for travelers entering or returning to state as health officials try to keep outside coronavirus outbreaks at bay, goverr’s office anunced Thursday.

People seeking medical care or taking day trips to attend to essential parenting duties will longer be subject to 14-day self-quarantine requirements.

new executive order from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham extends requirement that travelers self-isolate at a residence or lodging facility upon arrival or return to New Mexico — with bro exceptions for workers in essential businesses, federal government and airline industry.

State health officials are wrestling with how to insulate New Mexico from neighboring states with lighter public health restrictions and uncontained virus outbreaks that can longer be traced and isolated. order allows state to impose quarantines on people who don’t comply, though it was unclear if or when authorities might begin involuntary enforcement.

“Individuals who are quarantined upon arrival into state may leave residence or place of lodging in which y are self-quarantining only for purposes of medical care,” goverr’s office anunced in a statement. “Family or household members may visit a quarantined person, but those visitors must n self-quarantine mselves.”

new order responds to “ absence of a coherent federal strategy to slowing spre of COVID-19,” goverr’s office said in a statement.

self-quarantine restrictions apply for duration of New Mexico’s public health emergency. state has delayed any furr reopening of ecomy until at least September.

rate of positive tests is far lower in New Mexico than neighboring states of Arizona, Texas, Coloro and Oklahoma. And a local surge of virus infections and related deaths appears to be tapering off.

seven-day rolling aver of daily new cases in New Mexico decreased over past two weeks, going from 286 new cases per day on July 22 to 221 new cases per day on Aug. 5, according to an analysis by Associated Press of data collected by Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

Comparing seven-day avers of new cases smooths out amalies in data, including delays in test results. full number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have t been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with virus without feeling sick.

Aver statewide daily deaths have declined from 5.3 to 4.6 over same period.

At same time, a state ncy is reporting that 21 employees at a meatpacking plant in Roswell tested positive for COVID-19.

New Mexico Environment Department has vised USA Beef Packing LLC owner Jose Mrid on how to handle influx in cases, Roswell Daily Record reported. Mrid said he is cooperating with a state investigation into what caused infection to spre so widely.

ncy reports show company reported its first positive test on July 28, and it h two by July 31. number of cases jumped to 21 by Wednesday. company was closed for a while after first confirmed case, and all employees were to be tested, department spokeswoman Mdy Hayden said.

A quality control officer for company previously told Daily Record that plant follows all federal and state guidelines regarding food and employee safety, including social distancing measures and employee temperature checks.

“We want to assure you that we are taking all precautions and necessary steps to ensure our food supply is safe,” company said in a statement.