Nurses in New Mexico
(Photo: Reuters Connect)



New Mexico is currently one of the best states in the United States to live due to its low infection rate. This is, in part, a sign that its stringent stay-at-home policy and implementation of social distancing is working.

The stringent implementation and reinforcement of stay-at-home policy and social distancing are still a few of the best steps to flatten the curve of COVID-19. At the same time, vaccines against the infectious and deadly virus are still not yet available in the market. It has been reported and shown by the different researchers across the globe the positive impact of these measures.

CURRENT NUMBER OF COVID-19 CASES IN THE UNITED STATES

At present, there are more than 2.1 million cases of COVID-19 around the globe and with a death toll of more than 145,000, according to worldometers. The number is still expected to rise as soon as the stay-at-home policy is lifted, and the mass testing for the virus is done.

Meanwhile, out of the number of cases stated above, the United States of America has recorded 644, 348 positive cases of COVID-19 as of Apr.16. They ranked number 1 among the countries with positive cases around the globe, and Spain follows them with more than 180,000, according to Statista.   

These numbers of cases are only those who have diagnosed positive for the virus. These numbers do not include those who are symptomatic and asymptomatic and those who died of COVID-19.

STAY-AT-HOME POLICY

The federal government is very stringent in implementing the 'Stay-at-Home" policy amid COVID-19, including the state governors as well. Recently, President Donald Trump recognized the states in the country who are doing their best to implement this measure strictly.

One of the best implementors of this measure is New Mexico, where their number of cases is below five percent or just around 2.7 percent. 

President Trump said: "Some states they stay in better. "They are not touching. Whatever it is, they are not going out, and they don't stay in groups. Some states are not as good for whatever reason."

HOW TO KNOW IF A STATE IS IMPLEMENTING SOCIAL DISTANCING AND STAY-AT-HOME

In the absence of a vaccine, social distancing, and stay-at-home policies are the best methods to flatten the curve of COVID-19 at the time being.

Dr. Deborah Birx, a renowned global health official who sits on the White House coronavirus task force, said that less than five percent of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 are efficiently implementing social-distancing and stay-at-home. 

She said: "We have a whole group of states who are testing and their positivity rate is under five percent."

In a recently published news article, they gathered data in the Southwest part of the country and found out the following number of COVID-19 cases:

  • New Mexico- 2.7%
  • Utah- 5.1%
  • Arizona- 7%
  • Colorado- 18.3%
  • Oklahoma- 41%

It can be seen that among the states mentioned above, New Mexico got the lowest percentage of COVID-19 cases.

WHY DOES NEW MEXICO HAVE SUCH A LOW RATE?

Jason Mitchell, the chief medical officer at Albuquerque's Presbyterian Hospital, said: "[The state] put in the mechanisms early, so people knew to stay home. They closed down nonessential businesses. Those choices early on made a huge difference."

However, Mitchell clarified that this is not yet the time for the New Mexicans to celebrate because their state is still very far from being safe.

Mitchell added that even though the state is practicing the highest form of social distancing and stay-at-home policy, it could still be catastrophic because there are still many things that remain unknown about the new virus.

Moreover, the New Mexico state governor acknowledges that the state still needs to make more efforts despite their low rate of COVID-19 cases.

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