New Mexico COVID-19 news recap

• The state announced 203 new cases of COVID-19 and five additional deaths this weekend, with 100 cases and three deaths related to the disease reported on Saturday and 103 new cases and two additional deaths reported on Sunday.
• Weeks after the start of the state’s public health emergency, the Management and Training Company told Otero County officials that if they didn’t get more detainees, the company would cancel the contract. Read more here.
  • Reveal wrote about the problems the state had with tests at facilities that had ICE detainees.
• A judge denied an inmate’s request for release, saying that being in prison would be safer than being at home when it came to COVID-19. Read more here.
• Hundreds of people in Belen feathered to protest COVID-19 restrictions for churches, KOB-TV reported. Churches can currently operate at 40 percent capacity for indoor services.
• The number of patient transfers in northwestern New Mexico surged in April and May as COVID-19 peaked in the area, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.
• Officials urged women to not delay breast cancer screenings because of COVID-19. Read more here.
• An employee at Mayfield High School tested positive for COVID-19, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported.
• Gadsden School District closed La Union Elementary School after an employee disclosed contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported.
• The state Public Education Department is working with schools to upgrade air filters, KRQE-TV reported.
• Rio Rancho Public Schools will be sending elementary school students back to school as part of a hybrid model this week, KOB-TV reported.
• State officials will visit schools around the state, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
• The Albuquerque Journal wrote about the stress level of parents during online learning for students.
• A Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department tested positive for COVID-19, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.
• The Albuquerque Journal continued rolling out its polling results this weekend, and reported that the COVID-19 pandemic was the biggest concern for 40 percent of likely voters, by far the highest number. Other top issues also have ties to the pandemic, like economic uncertainty (23 percent), unemployment (13 percent), education (12 percent) and a return to usual activities (7 percent).
• Also, 43 percent said it is very or somewhat safe to send students back to school, while 50 percent said it was very or somewhat unsafe, the Journal poll found.
• Mental health advocates are worried about the impact of the pandemic on suicide rates, KOB-TV reported.
• University of New Mexico athletics haven’t seen any major COVID-19 outbreaks like other schools around the country, the Daily Lobo reported.
  • Only four percent of classes in the fall semester at UNM will be in-person, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.
• The San Juan County Commission may raise the gross receipts tax, with the economic impact of the COVID-19 playing a part, the Farmington Daily Times reported.
• The City of Albuquerque, meanwhile, will likely have to use general fund money to pay for debt related to the lodgers tax, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
• New Mexico United will provide COVID-19 testing from fans who choose to go to their upcoming match in Colorado Springs, KRQE-TV reported.
• A COVID-safe Oktoberfest will take place in Rio Rancho this year, the Rio Rancho Observer reported.
• Santa Fe officials are asking residents to use a Carnegie Mellon University developed app that hopes to streamline contact tracing for COVID-19, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
• The Village of Los Lunas will distribute grants for small businesses through CARES Act funding, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
• The Carlsbad Public library is still holding youth programs, the Carlsbad Current-Argus reported.
• The Rail Yards Market will reopen on September 27, KRQE-TV reported.