PORTALES, NM – Roosevelt County remains in the red following the latest averaged numbers posted by the NM Department of Health as of Oct. 12. The southeastern region of the state as well as West Texas continue to post concerning COVID-19 stats. Roosevelt County is facing concerning situations for our local hospital and schools right now. We want to ensure our residents are able to get the care they need for COVID-19 or any other health concerns and we want our children to be able to eventually go back to face-to-face learning as quickly as possible. Larger regional hospitals, located in both New Mexico and Texas are at or near capacity; which will limit transfer options for someone needing advanced care beyond our local capacity.
“We are definitely seeing a spike in our local community and probably know of a friend or loved one that has recently contracted COVID-19. We do not want or need another government mandated shut down of our local businesses, so please do all you can in combating this invisible enemy and be safe,” stated Roosevelt County Community Development Corporation Executive Director Jim Lucero. “Our businesses are fighting to survive; our education system is being strained like never before and we need to do all we can to keep from overwhelming our healthcare system. We can do this but it comes down to your personal choices. Stay safe and I pray for our community.”
As concerned businesses you can help in several ways:
1. Consider becoming New Mexico Safe Certified and visit https://nmsafecertified.org/ for more information.
2. Remember to self-report to the New Mexico Environment Dept. within 4 hours of an employee testing positive for COVID-19 and follow the guidance they offer at https://www.env.nm.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/2020-09-09-OHSB-Emergency-rule-faqs-updated.pdf
3. Make sure employees and customers are protected from the virus by using masks, social distancing and other methods. The Chamber has free cloth masks available to businesses and individuals.
4. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) offers resources and guidance for businesses at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/guidance-business-response.html.
“We’re appealing to our community to come together to protect the health of our citizens, which are at much greater risk with regional hospitals operating at or near capacity,” said Roosevelt County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Karl Terry. “We want to see our schools and businesses open and to do that we all need to exercise even more caution.”
Some residents and businesses have asked for clarification in regards to isolation versus quarantine. Isolate if you are sick (do not assume it is just a cold or allergies) or test positive for COVID-19. Quarantine if you are at risk of having been exposed or have had close contact with someone with COVID-19. The Portales Public Health Office continues to offer free drive thru testing Monday-Friday from 8:15 am to 11:15 am. Anyone wanting to be tested can register online at https://cvtestreg.nmhealth.org/ or contact the Public Health Office at 575.356.4453. Public Health will administer tests to anyone wishing to be tested, regardless of symptoms. With current data reflecting Roosevelt County has an 11.80 percent positivity rate, more people are encouraged to test and help lower these figures to meet the gating criteria for our youth to return to in-person schooling.
“Local residents and business owners have been doing a good job of weathering this pandemic and we want to acknowledge and appreciate everyone’s efforts,” added Roosevelt County Manager Amber Hamilton. “We also wanted to highlight resources and requirements for our local businesses as we’ve found this process can be overwhelming at times. We also know our youth want and need to get back into the classroom and we can all work together to protect our local businesses and our kids.”
If you have any questions or need any assistance in regards to business resources, please contact:
Karl Terry, Roosevelt County/Portales Chamber of Commerce at 575.356.8541 ext.11 or karlterry@portales.com
Jim Lucero, Roosevelt County Community Development Corp. at 575.356.8541 ext. 15 or jim.lucero@portales.com
Amber Hamilton, Roosevelt County at 575.356.5307 or ahamilton@rooseveltcounty.com.
