Governor: New Mexico breweries cleared to reopen on Friday

Breweries will be allowed to open on Friday, the latest type of business to be cleared as New Mexico reopens amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Bars, however, will have to wait.

“Bars — people stay longer, people stay later,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said Thursday. “Bars are later, they’re in phase two.”

Like restaurants, breweries will be limited to 50% of normal capacity.

The governor reported an additional 121 coronavirus cases, bringing the statewide total 9,367.

The Health Department on Thursday also reported 10 new deaths, raising the death toll to 420. McKinley and San Juan counties in the northwestern corner of the state continue to account for more than half of the confirmed infections.

Prison facilities also remain hot spots of the outbreak. More than 600 cases have been reported among inmates being held at federal and state lockups in New Mexico.

State officials urged residents to stay at home and wear face coverings when out in public. They said the rate of spread was improving as is New Mexico’s testing capacity but more work still needs to be done.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.