Cases minimal through March, rising slightly in April
Cibola managed through March with only two COVID-19 related deaths, both occurring at the end of the month, making March the least deadly month for COVID-19 so far this year.
Cibola County’s COVID-19 numbers grew at their slowest pace all year, and the count of active cases diminished consistently all month. Vaccinations against COVID-19 grew at their slowest rate of the year, following the descending case numbers. The slow growth in vaccinations appears to reflect a community looking to leave COVID-19 in the past.
COVID-19 continued to ravage its way through school-aged children in March, with residents aged 0-9 gaining the highest number of cases. The children were followed by the 40–49-year-old demo graphic, who added the second highest number of cases. The 10-19 and 20-29 age groups tied for the third highest growth of COVID cases in the month.
March was the first month since the Omicron variant slowed growth in the county. COVID-19 has slowed but has not gone away, growing COVID-19 cases in the beginning of April reflect this.
Since January 2020, 1 in 3 Cibola County Residents have been infected with COVID-19, 1 in 146 have died from it. All data in this story is compiled from the New Mexico Department of Health, US Centers for Disease Con trol, John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the World Health Organization for the Cibola Citizen’s COVID Watch Program.
Deaths Slowing
COVID-19 has left an undeniable mark on Cibola County: 183 members of the Cibola community have lost their lives to this disease.
183 Cibola families. 183 neighbors. 183 friends.
COVID-19 can present symptoms in different fashions, some people may experience no symptoms at all while others are sent to the hospital and many die. COVID’s danger is written clearly in this data.
Omicron was at its peak in January, killing 10 Cibola residents in the month alone. The month began with only 417 active COVID-19 cases, and when it ended, Cibola had 1,521 active COVID cases, this would not peak until middle February as Omicron prepared to tear through Cibola.
February saw eight COVID deaths. The first week of the month saw the peak of Omicron, hitting a ceiling at 1,841 active COVID cases. Over the next few weeks COVID-19 cases would descend.
March saw two COVID-19 deaths. This decrease followed lower case rates and a descending active case count. March opened with 464 active cases; the month ended with 315 active cases.
So far, April has surpassed March with three deaths.
Slow Case Growth in March
Cases grew at their slowest pace of the year in March. Cases only grew by 115 over the month, compared to January’s 1,311.
The Cibola Citizen collects “weekly” records every Monday.
In the first week of March Cibola County had 6,840 total cases, with 464 active cases.
In the second week of March, Cibola reported 6,914 total cases, showing 418 active cases.
In the third week, Cibola had 6,936 total cases, with 335 active cases.
The final week of March showed Cibola with 6,955 total cases and only 315 active cases.
Daily case growth stagnated near the end of the month, with Cibola adding 115 new cases through March.
Case Growth by Age Because the COVID-19 growth rate in Cibola County was minimal for the month, most age groups in the county only increased by six to 15 cases.
0-9 The 0-9 age group added the greatest number of cases in March. Increasing Cibola’s total caseload by 25, the group of young children added six more cases than the group with the second highest increase in COVID-19 cases.
This age group began the month with 740 total cases and increased the number to 765 by the end of the month.
40-49
The 40–49-year-old age demographic added 19 new cases in March, it’s the second highest increase in cases by an age group.
This age group began the month with 922 case and increased the number to 941 by the month’s end.
10-29
The 10-19 and 20-29 age groups both added 15 cases each, tying for the third highest case growth rate for the month of March.
The 10–19-year-old group began the month with 1,086 total cases, they grew that count to 1,101 by the end of the month.
Case Growth by Age
The 20–29-year-old group began the month with 1093 total cases, and ended with 1,108 cases.
Other Age Groups
The 90+ age group did not see an increase in COVID-19 cases through March. The 80-89 group increased by six cases. 70-79 increased by five cases. 60-69 increased by seven cases. 50-59 increased by 10 cases. 30-39 increased by 13 cases.
April – So Far
April continues to see a decrease in county-wide COVID-19 case growth. The first week of April had Cibola County at 304 active cases, the second week dropped this number to 262 active cases.
Deaths are on the rise in Cibola County with April being responsible for three deaths so far.
Vaccination rates were on the decline for March, with only 55 residents becoming fully vaccinated. In April, 52 people have become fully vaccinated, this is still low, but April is on track to beat March’s vaccine rate.
Social distancing and mask wearing remain Cibola’s best tools to protect and defend against COVID-19. The US Centers for Disease Control recommend that citizens gauge their own risk level before going out or attending a large unmasked gathering.