COVID-19 claimed the lives of three Cibola County residents in February. The last month proved that the disease is still deadly and remains very prevalent in Cibola County. Even as the disease remains deadly and is actively killing New Mexicans, reports suggest that both the federal and state governments are both considering ending the COVID-19 Public Health emergency, which will make tracking the disease much harder, while making COVID-19 tests and treatment more expensive.
Through February, the active case count of COVID in Cibola has grown by over thirty cases compared to January. In the first week of February, Cibola had exactly 280 active cases, in the second week that number spiked to 300 active cases, stabilized at 300 cases in the third week, and rose to 313 active cases in the final week of data reporting for March.
According to the CDC, Cibola County has a high rate of positive COVID tests but a low level of community transmissibility. This means that cases are more likely to be spread among family members or areas where social distancing is limited like schools and offices, but it is less likely to be caught at larger public areas where proper ventilation and spacing between people is available.
Vaccine Increases in February
After several months of communication with the New Mexico Department of Health about possible inaccuracies in vaccination reporting, regular data reporting of vaccine information is being updated weekly again, including with a tracker which follows how many residents in each county have received their Omicron COVID-19 booster shot.
In March, 18 Cibola residents became fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while 16 received their first shot of the vaccine. In all, 5,077 residents of Cibola County have been vaccinated against the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
For the first two weeks of data reporting, and then the last two weeks of data reporting, Cibola’s vaccine data remained the same. The fully vaccinated rate began at 16,622, then increased to 16,640. Those with one shot began at 19,886, and increased to 19,902.
COVID Increases in January
February 2023 from the added 93 new cases. This is 15 more cases than were added in January.
When February began, Cibola had 9,209 cases. When the month ended, Cibola had 9,303 cases, this means 93 new cases were added.
In 2023, there was only one month where Cibola added less than 100 new cases, that was in September when the county only added 70 cases. In comparison, Jan. 2023 only added 78 new cases. February came close to adding 100 new cases.
When February began, there were 280 active cases in Cibola County. This number rose to 300 in the second week of the month, then stabilized at 300 active cases in the third week. The number rose again to 313 in the fourth week of the month. Currently, with the first week of data reporting for March, Cibola has decreased to 300 active cases across the county.
New Cases in Cibola
November had 119 new cases. December had 124 new cases. January had 78 new cases.
February added 93 new cases.
COVID-19 Increases by Age Group
In February, the largest increase in COVID cases came from school-aged children, aged 10-19. This increase was so massive, it was exactly double the amount of the next two highest increases in COVID, which were a tie in the 30-39 and 60-69 age groups.
The 0-9 age group demographic added seven new cases in February, bringing their total to 1,031 cases.
The 10-19 age demographic added 24 new cases. This was the highest increase, and doubled the next highest increase of cases in Cibola County through February. By the end of February, this age group had a total of 1,428 cases.
The 20-29 age demographic added eight new cases, bringing their total caseload to 1,389.
The 30-39 demographic added 12. This age group tied with the 60-69 age group for the second highest increase, which was only half of the highest increase from the 10-19 age group. This group’s total caseload ended the month at 1,399 The 40-49 demographic added 10 new cases, bringing their caseload to 1,277.
The 50-59 age demographic added eight new cases. This age group’s total caseload rested at 1,108 at the end of February.
The 60-69 age demographic added 12 cases. This age group tied with the 30-39 age group for the second highest increase, which was only half of the highest increase from the 10-19 age group. This group’s total caseload ended the month at 878.
The 70-79 age demographic added five new cases. By the end of February, this group’s total caseload rested at 496.
The 80-89 age demographic added three new cases, bringing their total caseload 239.
The 90+ age demographic added zero new cases to the county’s caseload. This age group’s total caseload rested at 56.