Scrase: omicron on the downslope

Even as virus cases remain high, acting Health Secretary Dr. David Scrase struck an optimistic tone during a news briefing Wednesday.

He said data suggests New Mexico has weathered the peak of the omicron surge and that COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are expected to continue to drop in the coming days and weeks.

He went so far as to say he was hopeful the state was primed for a “spring break” of sorts from the coronavirus.

“I’m very encouraged,” Scrase said. “I don’t think you’ve ever heard me talking about getting a spring break at these press conferences after two years.”

New Mexico reported 2,611 new confirmed COVID cases Wednesday. That’s up from the 1,809 cases reported Tuesday, but it’s a far cry from daily case counts above 5,000 and 6,000, which the state has reported in recent weeks.

How low daily case counts and hospitalizations will fall remains unknown, Scrase said during the briefing. And he cautioned that good news doesn’t mean it’s time to stop wearing masks or taking other precautions when going about.

“We are officially on the downslope of the omicron case curve,” he said.

The most recent variant of the coronavirus, which is much more contagious than previous versions, has proven to be less deadly, Scrase said.

The overall fatality rate of COVID in the state has dropped to its lowest level yet since the start of the pandemic. He said that the number of COVID patients in the hospital on ventilators has also not increased even as cases did during the current wave.

Scrase said genetic sequencing data shows New Mexico’s previous surges of different coronavirus variants have been spaced about six months apart. The first came in late 2020, the second in July and August 2021, and then the ongoing omicron wave.

“And so I’m really happy about that,” Scrase said. “I think this gives us a perfect time to continue our conversations and discussions about learning to live with COVID. And transitioning to a new model of fighting the pandemic that occurs a lot more in our homes and in our families than it does in the halls of DOH and the Capitol and HSD (Human Services Department).”

But many people and families continue to suffer through the omicron wave.

New Mexico reported 15 more deaths on Thursday, bringing the statewide toll to 6,488 since the start of the pandemic. There were 651 people hospitalized with COVID throughout the state.

Unvaccinated individuals accounted for 92.8% of the 222 deaths and 77.4% of the hospilizations in the last four weeks, according to Health Department epidemiology reports.

Scrase said part of “learning to live with COVID,” in addition to taking precautions such as getting vaccinated and boosted, is to shore up a supply of at-home COVID tests for when they are needed, instead of having to make an appointment and wait days for the results.

He encouraged households to order tests directly from the federal government at www.covidtests.gov or to seek them out from the state. The Health Department has distributed 1.4 million tests in recent weeks and has ordered a total of 3 million, he said.

“But the idea is not to wait until you’re exposed or not to wait until you need that kind of test,” Scrase said. “The idea is to have those in your home. So you can just do them.”