New Mexico’s New Public Health Order Hits the “Reset” Button - All Non-essential Services & Activities Suspended
RUIDOSO, NM – November 13, 2020 – Today, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced a new Public Health Order that will go into effect for two weeks beginning Monday, November 16th – Monday, November 30th. The new order temporarily re-enacts a statewide order closing in-person services for all non-essential activities in an effort to curb the unprecedented spike of COVID-19 cases and to attempt to relieve escalating strain on hospitals and health care providers across the state.
New Mexicans are instructed to stay at home except for those trips that are essential to health, safety and welfare – such as for food and water, emergency medical care, to obtain a flu shot or to obtain a test for COVID-19.
According to the NM Department of Health, 17 percent of New Mexicans have been hospitalized for COVID-19, or almost one in five. There are at least 471 individuals hospitalized for COVID-19 in the state of yesterday, but that number may be higher pending patient test results and state reporting.
The state has also developed a tiered county-by-county system that will be used to establish “re-opening” benchmarks for each county upon the Nov. 30 expiration of the amended emergency public health order. State health officials and modeling advisors are readying this system for implementation, which would permit counties the flexibility to engage in more in-person and business activities with Department of Health approval when they are able to drive down infection rates and prevent community outbreaks.
Here are the specifics of the Public Health Order as they pertain to each sector:
ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES:
Essential businesses may operate during the next two weeks if they reduce their operations and in-person workforce to the greatest extent possible. Essential businesses, as defined in the state of New Mexico’s operative emergency public health order, means any business or non-profit entity falling within one or more of the following categories:
Health care operations including hospitals, walk-in-care health facilities, pharmacies, medical wholesale and distribution, home health care workers or aides for the elderly, emergency dental facilities, nursing homes, residential health care facilities, research facilities, congregate care facilities, intermediate care facilities for those with intellectual or developmental disabilities, supportive living homes, home health care providers, drug and alcohol recovery support services, and medical supplies and equipment manufacturers and providers;
Homeless shelters, food banks, and other services providing care to indigent or needy populations;
Childcare facilities;
Grocery stores, supermarkets, food banks, farmers’ markets and vendors who sell food, convenience stores, and other businesses that generate the majority of their revenue from the sale of canned food, dry goods, fresh fruits and vegetables, pet food, feed, other animal supply stores, fresh meats, fish, and poultry, and any other household consumer products;
Farms, ranches, and other food cultivation, processing, or packaging operations;
Infrastructure operations including, but not limited to, public works construction, commercial and residential construction and maintenance, self-storage facilities, airport operations, public transportation, airlines, taxis, private transportation providers, transportation network companies, water, gas, electrical, oil drilling, oil refining, natural resources extraction or mining operations, nuclear material research and enrichment, those attendant to the repair and construction of roads and highways, gas stations, solid waste collection and removal, trash and recycling collection, processing and disposal, sewer, data and internet providers, data centers, technology support operations, and telecommunications systems;
Manufacturing operations involved in food processing, manufacturing agents, chemicals, fertilizer, pharmaceuticals, sanitary products, household paper products, microelectronics/semi-conductor, primary metals manufacturers, electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturers, and transportation equipment manufacturers;
Services necessary to maintain the safety and sanitation of residences or essential businesses including security services, towing services, custodial services, plumbers, electricians, and other skilled trades;
Veterinary and livestock services, animal shelters and facilities providing pet adoption, daycare, or boarding services;
Media services;
Automobile repair facilities, bike repair facilities, and retailers who generate the majority of their revenue from the sale of automobile or bike repair products;
Utilities, including their contractors, suppliers, and supportive operations, engaged in power generation, fuel supply and transmission, water and wastewater supply;
Hardware stores, “big box” stores, and other large retailers;
Laundromats and dry cleaner services;
Crematoriums, funeral homes and cemeteries;
Banks, credit unions, insurance providers, payroll services, brokerage services, and investment management firms;
Businesses providing mailing and shipping services;
Laboratories and defense and national security-related operations supporting the United States government, a contractor to the United States government, or any federal entity;
Professional services, such as legal or accounting services, but only where necessary to assist in compliance with legally mandated activities; and
Logistics, and also businesses that store, transport, or deliver groceries, food, materials, goods or services directly to residences, retailers, government institutions, or essential businesses.
RETAIL SPACES:
Retail spaces that are identified as essential businesses may operate in a limited fashion. An essential business identified as a “retail space” – such as hardware stores, automobile and bike repair facilities, laundromats, dry cleaner services, grocery stores, convenience stores, food banks and large “big-box” retail spaces – may not exceed either 25 percent of the maximum occupancy as determined by the relevant fire marshal or more than 75 customers in the business space at any given time, whichever is lesser. Essential retail spaces shall limit the sale of medications, durable medical equipment, baby formula, diapers, sanitary care products and hygiene products to three items per individual. These retail spaces must close each night at 10 p.m. and may reopen beginning at 4 a.m.
CLOSE-CONTACT BUSINESSES:
Close-contact businesses – such as barbershops, hair salons, gyms, group fitness classes, tattoo parlors, nail salons, spas, massage parlors, esthetician clinics, tanning salons, guided raft tours, guided balloon tours, bowling alleys, ice skating rinks, and personal training services – must reduce their in-person workforce at each business or business location by 100% through Nov. 30 for the duration of the public health order.
CLOSE-CONTACT RECREATIONAL FACILITIES:
Close-contact recreational facilities – such as indoor movie theaters, indoor museums with interactive displays or exhibits and other similar venues, miniature golf, arcades, amusement parks, aquariums, casinos, concert venues, professional sports venues, event venues, bars, dance clubs, performance venues, go-kart courses, automobile race tracks, adult entertainment venues and other places of recreation or entertainment – must remain closed.
HOUSES OF WORSHIP:
Houses of worship may hold religious services, indoors or outdoors, or provide services through audiovisual means, but may not be used as a venue for non-religious events. “Houses of worship” may not exceed either 25 percent of the maximum occupancy of any enclosed building or 75 individuals at any one time, whichever is smaller. Houses of worship should err on the side of remote or audiovisual services during the current public health emergency.
PLACES OF LODGING:
Places of lodging – hotels, motels, RV parks, and short-term vacation rentals – that have completed the N.M. Safe Certified training offered at nmsafecertified.org may operate up to 25 percent of maximum occupancy. All other “places of lodging” must close. Healthcare providers who are engaged in the provision of care to New Mexico residents or individuals utilizing “places of lodging” for extended stays, as temporary housing, or for purposes of quarantining shall not be counted for purposes of determining maximum occupancy.
OUTDOOR RECREATIONAL FACILITIES:
Outdoor recreational facilities – such as outdoor golf courses, public swimming pools, outdoor tennis courts, ski basins, youth programs, youth livestock shows, u-pick produce operations and corn mazes, horse racing tracks, botanical gardens, outdoor zoos, and New Mexico state parks – will close for through Nov. 30 for the duration of the public health order.
INDOOR MALLS:
Indoor malls are closed. individual essential businesses with separate outdoor entrances may continue to operate to the extent otherwise permitted by the public health order.
MASS GATHERINGS:
Any gathering of more than five individuals is prohibited; this includes amateur youth sports. New Mexicans are instructed to remain at home except for only those trips that are essential for health, safety and welfare. A mass gathering does not include the presence of more than five individuals where those individuals regularly reside. A mass gathering also does not include individuals who are public officials or public employees in the course and scope of their employment.
The amended Public Health Order can be found here.
