New Mexico Register / Volume XXXI,
Issue 6 / March 24, 2020
AMENDED
PUBLIC HEALTH ORDER
NEW
MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
CABINET
SECRETARY KATHYLEEN M. KUNKEL
MARCH
16, 2020
Public
Health Emergency Order Limiting Mass Gatherings and Implementing Other
Restrictions Due to COVID-19
WHEREAS, on January 30,
2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the emergence of a novel
Corona virus Disease 2019 (referred to as "COVID-19") that had not
previously circulated in humans, but has been found to have adapted to humans
such that it is contagious and easily spread from one person to another and one
country to another;
WHEREAS, on January 31, 2020, the United States Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary declared a public health emergency as
a precautionary tool to facilitate preparation and availability of resources to
assure that the federal government had appropriate resources to combat the
spread of the COVID-19 virus in our nation through its support of state and
community-led preparedness and response is;
WHEREAS, as of March 15, 2020, the New Mexico Department of Health
has confirmed thirteen (13) cases of individuals infected with COVID-19 in New
Mexico;
WHEREAS, on March 11, 2020, Michelle Lujan Grisham, the Governor of
the State of New Mexico, declared in Executive Order 2020-004 ("EO
2020-004") that a Public Health Emergency exists in New Mexico under the
Public Health Emergency Response Act, and invoked the All Hazards Emergency
Management Act by directing all cabinets, departments and agencies to comply
with the directives of the declaration and the further instructions of the
Department of Health;
WHEREAS, as of March 12, 2020, I issued a Public Health Emergency
Order to Limit Mass Gatherings Due to COVID-19, which limited certain public
gatherings;
WHEREAS, the further spread of COVID-19 in the State of New Mexico
poses a threat to the health, safety, wellbeing and property of the residents
in the State due to, among other things, illness from COVID-19, illness-related
absenteeism from employment (particularly among public safety and law
enforcement personnel and persons engaged in activities and businesses critical
to the economy and infrastructure of the State), and potential closures of
schools or other places of public gathering; and
WHEREAS, the New Mexico Department of Health possesses legal
authority pursuant to the Public Health Act, NMSA 1978, Sections 24-1-1 to -40,
the Public Health Emergency Response Act, NMSA 1978, Sections 12-1 OA-1 to -10,
the Department of Health Act, NMSA 1978, Sections 9-7-1 to -18, the authority
granted in EO 2020-004, and in any inherent constitutional police powers of the
New Mexico state government, to preserve and promote public health and safety,
to adopt isolation and quarantine, and to close public places and forbid
gatherings of people when deemed necessary by the Department for the protection
of public health.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Kathyleen M. Kunkel,
Cabinet Secretary of the New Mexico Department of Health, in accordance with
the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the Laws of the State of New
Mexico, do hereby declare the current outbreak of COVID-19 a condition of
public health importance as defined in the New Mexico Public Health Act, NMSA
1978, Section 24-1-2(A) as an infection, a disease, a syndrome, a symptom, an
injury or other threat that is identifiable on an individual or community level
and can reasonably be expected to lead to adverse health effects in the
community, and that poses an imminent threat of substantial harm to the
population of New Mexico.
The following definitions are
adopted for the purposes of this Order:
Definitions: As used in this
Public Health Order, the following terms shall have the meaning given to them,
except where the context clearly requires otherwise:
(1) "Condition of public health importance" means an
infection, a disease, a syndrome, a symptom, an injury or other threat that is
identifiable on an individual or community level and can reasonably be expected
to lead to adverse health effects in the community.
(2) "Disease" means an illness, including those
caused by infectious agents or their toxic products which may be transmitted to
a susceptible host.
(3) "Individuals" means natural
persons.
(4) "Gathering" means any grouping together of
individuals in a single connected location.
(5) "Mass gathering" means any public or private
gathering that brings together one hundred (100) or more individuals in a
single room or connected space in close proximity to one another, such as an
auditorium, stadium, arena, large conference room, meeting hall, theaters, or
any other confined indoor or outdoor space, but does not include normal
operations at airports, or other spaces where 100 or more individuals may be in
transit. "Mass gathering" also
does not include family gatherings such as weddings or funerals, shelters,
retail stores or grocery stores, typical office environments, courthouses,
correctional and detention facilities, schools and educational institutions,
hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and other health care and congregate care
facilities, and places of worship operating during "normal business
hours''.
(6) "Normal business hours" means the normal workday
or typical time of operation for a "typical office environment".
(7) "Secretary" or "Secretary of Health"
means the Cabinet Secretary of the Department of Health.
(8) "Typical office environments" includes private
entities, governmental organizations, political subdivisions, or other entities
engaged in commercial, industrial, or professional activities. "Typical office environments" does
not include restaurants, bars, breweries, eateries, and other similar service
establishments.
I HEREBY DIRECT
AS FOLLOWS:
(1) All Mass Gatherings are hereby
prohibited under the powers and authority set forth in the New Mexico Public
Health Act, and all regulations promulgated pursuant thereto.
(2) All restaurants, bars, breweries,
eateries, and other food service establishments shall operate at no greater
than fifty percent of maximum occupancy, and no greater than fifty percent of
seating capacity. Individual tables and booths may not seat more than six
people, and all occupied tables and booths must be separated by at least six
feet.
Patrons
may not be seated at bars and standing patrons shall not be served.
(3) All casinos and horse racing
facilities, and attendant restaurant or bar operations shall close during the
pendency of this Order. This directive excludes those casinos operating on
Tribal lands.
I FURTHER DIRECT as follows:
(1) This Order shall be broadly
disseminated in English, Spanish and other appropriate languages to the
citizens of the State of New Mexico.
(2) This Order declaring restrictions
based upon the existence of a condition of public health importance shall not
abrogate any disease-reporting requirements set forth in the New Mexico Public
Health Act.
(3) This Order shall remain in effect for
the duration of Executive Order 2020-004. This Order may be renewed consistent
with any direction from the Governor.
I FURTHER ADVISE the public to
take the following preventive precautions:
- New Mexico citizens are strongly advised to
stay at home and undertake only those outings absolutely necessary for their
health, safety, or welfare.
- Avoid contact with people who are sick.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water
for at least 20 seconds, especially after blowing your nose, coughing, or
sneezing, or having been in a public place. If soap and water are not
available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
-
To the extent possible, avoid touching
high-touch surfaces in public places – elevator buttons, door handles,
handrails, handshaking with people, etc. Use a tissue or your sleeve to cover
your hand or finger if you must touch something.
- Avoid touching your face, nose, eyes, etc.
- Clean and disinfect your home to remove
germs: practice routine cleaning of frequently touched surfaces (for example:
tables, doorknobs, light switches, handles, desks, toilets, faucets, sinks
& cell phones).
- Avoid crowds, especially in poorly
ventilated spaces. Your risk of exposure to respiratory viruses like COVID-19
may increase in crowded, closed-in settings with little air circulation if
there are people in the crowd who are sick.
- Avoid all non-essential travel including
plane trips and cruise ships.
THIS ORDER amends the
Public Health Emergency Order to Limit Mass Gatherings Due to COVID-19 issued
on March 12, 2020, supersedes any other previous orders, proclamations, or
directives in conflict. This Order shall take effect immediately and shall
remain in effect until otherwise rescinded.
ATTEST: DONE
AT THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE
THIS
16TH DAY OF MARCH 2020
/ S / WITNESS
MY HAND AND THE GREAT
MAGGIE
TOULOUSE OLIVER SEAL
OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO
SECRETARY
OF STATE
/ S /
KATHYLEEN
M. KUNKEL
SECRETARY
OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO
DEPARTMENT
OF HEALTH