
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) – New Mexico now has more than 2,000 coronavirus cases with seven more deaths, pushing that total to at least 65, officials said Tuesday.
State Department of Health officials announced 103 new COVID-19 cases that increased the total number of cases to 2,072.
They said five of the new deaths occurred in Bernalillo County and four were residents of the La Vida Llena retirement home in Albuquerque.
The fifth county death was a resident of the Central Desert Behavioral Health facility in Albuquerque with the other deaths in Chaves County and McKinley County.
Bernalillo County, the state’s most populous, now has 585 coronavirus cases.
Meanwhile, University of New Mexico scientists and clinical staff have started to sterilize and reuse single-use personal protective equipment, joining other universities and hospitals around the country in an effort to salvage dwindling supplies amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Medical facilities across the country are looking for alternative gear, while others are using a sterilization technique to help with decreasing supplies critical in keeping health professionals and patients safe, KOAT-TV reported.