New Mexico Register / Volume XXXI,
Issue 11 / June 9, 2020
PUBLIC HEALTH ORDER
NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
CABINET SECRETARY KATHYLEEN M. KUNKEL
JUNE 1, 2020
Public Health Emergency
Order Clarifying that Current Guidance
Documents, Advisories, and Emergency Public Health Orders Remain
in Effect; and Amending the March 23, 2020, April 6, 2020, April 11, April 30, 2020, May 5,
2020 and May 15, 2020, Public Health
Emergency Orders Closing All Businesses and Non-Profit Entities
Except for those Deemed Essential and Providing Additional Restrictions on Mass Gatherings Due to COVID-19
PREFACE
The purpose of this amended Public Health Emergency Order is to amend restrictions on mass gatherings and business operations, which were implemented in response to the spread of the Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 ("COVID-19"). Continued social distancing and self isolation measures are necessary to protect public health given the potentially devasting effects that could result from a rapid increase in COVID-19 cases in New Mexico. While this Order loosens some restrictions on mass gatherings and business operations, the core directive underlying all prior public health
initiatives remains intact; all New Mexicans should be staying in
their homes for all but the most essential activities and services. When New Mexicans are not in their homes, they should strictly adhere to social distancing protocols to minimize
risks. These sacrifices are the best contribution that each of us can individually make to protect the health and wellbeing of our fellow citizens and the State as a whole. In accordance with these purposes, this Order and its exceptions should be narrowly
construed to encourage New Mexicans to stay in their
homes for all but the most
essential activities.
It is hereby ORDERED that:
1. All current guidance documents and advisories issued by the Department of Health remain in effect.
2. The following Public Health Emergency Orders remain in effect through
the current Public Health Emergency and any subsequent renewals of that Public Health Emergency or until they are amended of rescinded:
A. March 13, 2020 Public
Health Emergency Order to Temporarily Limit Nursing Home Visitation Due to COVID-19;
B. April 30, 2020 Public Health
Emergency Order Modifying Tempora1y Restrictions on Non-Essential Health Care Services, Procedures, and Surgeries;
C. March 24, 2020 Public Health Emergency
Order Temporarily Regulating the Sale and Distribution of Personal Protective Equipment Due to Shortages Caused
by COVID-19; and
D. April 30, 2020 Public
Health Emergency Order Clarifying that Polling Places Shall be Open as Required in the Election Code and Imposing
Certain Social Distancing Restrictions on Polling
Places
3. The May 5, 2020 Public Health Emergency Order Amending the March 23, 2020,
April 6, 2020, April 11, 2020, and April 30, 2020
Public Health Emergency Orders Closing All Businesses
and Non-Profit Entities
Except for those Deemed Essential
and Providing Additional
Restrictions on Mass Gatherings Due to COVID-19
is hereby amended
as follows:
ORDER
WHEREAS, on March 11, 2020, because of the spread of the novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 ("COVID-19"), Michelle
Lujan Grisham, the Governor of the State
of New Mexico, declared that a Public
Health Emergency exists in New Mexico
under the Public
Health Emergency Response Act, and invoked her authority under the All Hazards Emergency
Management Act;
WHEREAS, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has
renewed the declaration of a Public Health Emergency through May 31, 2020;
WHEREAS, COVID-19 continues
to spread in New Mexico
and nationally. Since, Executive
Order 2020-004 was issued, confirmed
COVID-19 infections in New Mexico have risen to more than 5,500 and confirmed cases in the United States have risen to more than 1.4 million;
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),
potential displacement of persons, and closures of schools or other places
of public gathering;
WHEREAS, social distancing is the sole way New Mexicans can minimize the spread of COVID-19 and currently constitutes the most effective
means of mitigating the potentially devastating impact of this pandemic
in New Mexico; 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-lOA-1
to -10, the Department of Health Act, NMSA 1978, Sections 9-7-1 to -18, and 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, and as directed
by the Governor pursuant to the full scope of her emergency powers
under the All Hazard
Emergency Management Act, 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) "Essential business" means any business
or non-profit entity falling within
one or more of the following categories:
a. 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
recove1y support services, and medical supplies
and equipment manufacturers and providers;
b. Homeless shelters, food banks,
and other services
providing care to indigent or needy populations;
c. Childcare facilities necessary to provide services
to those workers employed by essential businesses, essential non-profit entities, and other operating non-essential businesses;
d. 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, and other animal supply stores, fresh meats, fish, and poultry,
and any other
household consumer products;
e. Farms,
ranches, and other food cultivation, processing, or packaging
operations;
f. All facilities routinely used by law enforcement personnel, first responders, firefighters, emergency management personnel, and dispatch
operators;
g. Infrastructure operations including, but not limited to, public works construction, commercial and residential construction and maintenance, 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;
h. 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;
i. 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;
j. Veterinary and livestock services,
animal shelters, and facilities providing
pet adoption, grooming, daycare, or boarding services;
k. Media services including television, radio, and newspaper operations;
l. Automobile repair facilities, bike repair facilities, and retailers who generate the majority of their revenue from the sale of automobile or bicycle repair products.
Contactless car washes,
which are those
that do not require person-to-person interaction between customers and employees, are permitted to operate;
m. Hardware stores and self-storage facilities;
n. Laundromats and dry cleaner
services;
o. Utilities, including their contractors, suppliers, and supportive
operations, engaged in power generation, fuel supply and transmission, water and wastewater
supply;
p. Funeral
homes, crematoriums and cemeteries;
q. Banks,
credit unions, insurance providers, payroll services,
brokerage services, and investment management firms;
r. Real estate services including brokers, title companies, and related services;
s. Businesses providing mailing and shipping services,
including post office boxes;
t. Laboratories and defense and national security-related operations supporting
the United States government, a contractor to the United
States government, or any federal
entity;
u. Restaurants are those operations
that generated at least 50% of their sales from dine-in services
from the sale of food during the last calendar year. Sales made to customers for off-site consumption such as the sale of growlers, wholesale revenues, and to-go items are excluded from this calculation. Restaurants .may provide dine-in service,
but they may not exceed more than 50% occupancy
of the maximum occupancy of any enclosed space on the restaurant's premises, as determined by the relevant fire marshal or fire department. Restaurants choosing to open must ensure that there is at least six feet of distance
between tables. No more than six patrons may be seated at any single table. No bar or counter seating
is permitted. Dine-in
services shall be provided only to patrons
who are seated at tables,
and patrons may not consume
food or beverages while standing.
Restaurants must operate
in compliance with applicable occupancy
restrictions and COVID-Safe Practices (CSPs) for Restaurants" section of the "All
Together New Mexico: COVID-Safe Practices
for Individuals and Employers". Local
breweries, wineries, or distillers may operate but only for carry out service.
v. Professional services, such as legal or accounting services,
but only where necessary to assist in compliance with legally mandated activities; and
w. Logistics, and also businesses that store, transport, or deliver groceries, food, materials, goods or services
directly to residences, retailers, government instih1tions,
or essential businesses.
(2) "Individuals" means natural
persons.
(3) "Gathering" means
any grouping together of individuals in a single connected location.
(4) ”Mass gathering" means any public gathering,
private gathering, organized
event, ceremony, or other grouping
that brings together five (5) or more individuals in a single room or connected
space, confined outdoor
space or an open outdoor
space. "Mass gathering" does not include the presence
of five (5) or more individuals where those individuals regularly reside.
"Mass gathering" does not include
individuals who are public officials or public employees in the course
and scope of their employment.
(5) "Houses of worship" means
any church, synagogue, mosque, or other gathering
space where persons
congregate to exercise
their religious beliefs.
(6) "Close-contact business" includes barbershops, hair salons, tattoo parlors,
nail salons, spas, massage parlors,
esthetician clinics, tanning
salons, guided raft tours, guided balloon tours,
gyms, and personal
training services for up to two trainees.
(7) "Recreational facilities" include indoor movie theaters, museums,
bowling alleys, miniature
golf, arcades, amusement
parks, concert venues,
event venues, performance venues, go-kart courses,
adult entertainment venues,
and other places
of indoor recreation or indoor entertainment.
(8) "Bars" are defined as food and beverage service
establishments that derived more than 50% of their revenue
in the prior calendar year from the sale of alcoholic beverages.
Bars must remain
closed during the pendency of this Public
Health Order.
(8) "COVID-Safe Practices" ("CSPs")
are those directives, guidelines, and recommendations for businesses and other public
operations that are set out and memorialized in the document
titled "All
Together New Mexico:
COVID-Safe Practices for Individuals and Employers". That document may be obtained
at the following link https://cv.nmhealth.org/covid safe-practices/.
(9) "Places of lodging" means all hotels,
motels, RV parks, co-located short- term condominium rentals with a central check-in
desk, and short-term vacation rentals.
(10) "Retail space"
means any essential business that sells goods or services
directly to consumers
or end-users such as grocery
stores or hardware
stores and includes
the essential businesses identified in the categories above:
l (d), 1(1), l (m), l (p), and l (s).
I HEREBY
DIRECT AS FOLLOWS:
(1) "Except as provided
elsewhere in this Order, all "mass gatherings" are hereby prohibited under the powers
and authority set forth in the Public
Health Act.
(2) "Houses of worship"
may hold services and other functions provided that they comply with the "COVID-Safe Practices
(CSPs) for Houses of Worship" section of the "All
Together New Mexico:
COVID-Safe Practices for Individuals and Employers". Further, "houses of worship" may not exceed
25% of the maximum occupancy
of any enclosed building, as determined by the relevant
fire marshal or fire department.
Nothing in this order is intended to preclude these faith-based institutions from holding services
through audiovisual means.
(3) Essential businesses" may open but must operate in accordance with the pertinent
"COVID-Safe Practices (CSPs)" section(s) of the "All Together
New Mexico: COVID-Safe
Practices for Individuals and Employers and also any identified occupancy restrictions.
(4) "Recreational
facilities" must remain
closed.
(5) Any business that is not identified as an "essential business" or a "recreational facility" may open provided that the total number of persons situated
within the business does not exceed
25% of the maximum occupancy
of any enclosed space on the business's
premises, as determined by the relevant
fire marshal or fire department.
(6) Businesses identified as a "retail space" may operate
provided that the total number of persons
situated within the business does not exceed 25% of the maximum occupancy of any enclosed
space on the business's premises,
as determined by the
relevant fire marshal or fire department. Any business opening
pursuant to this provision must comply with the pertinent CSP's set out in the "All
Together New Mexico: COVID-Safe Practices for Individuals and Employers".
(7) Indoor
shopping malls are permitted to operate provided
that the total number of persons within the mall at any given time does not exceed 25% of the maximum
occupancy of the premises, as determined by the relevant
fire marshal or fire department.
Further, loitering within
the indoor shopping
mall is not permitted and food courts must remain closed.
(8) Gyms and similar exercise facilities
may operate at up to 50% of the maximum occupancy of any enclosed
space on the business's premises, as determined by the
relevant fire marshal or fire department, but may not conduct group fitness classes.
(9) Public
swimming pools may open but such facilities are limited to lane-swimming and lessons
with up to two students
only. Play and splash areas shall be closed. Public swimming
pools may not exceed 50% of their maximum occupancy.
(10) If customers are waiting outside
of a business, the business
must take reasonable measures to ensure
that customers maintain
a distance of at least
six-feet from other individuals and avoid person-to-person contact.
(11) Bars are not permitted to operate other than for take-out and delivery if otherwise permitted
under their applicable licenses.
(12) "Places of lodging" shall not operate
at more than 50% percent
of maximum occupancy. Health care workers who are engaged
in the provision of care to New Mexico residents or individuals utilizing lodging facilities for extended stays, as temporary housing, or for purposes
of a quarantine or isolation
period shall not be counted for purposes of determining maximum
occupancy. All places
of lodging should comply with the "COVID-Safe Practices (CSPs) for Hotels, Resorts,
& Lodging" section of the "All Together
New Mexico: COVID-Safe Practices for Individuals and Employers". In the case of vacation rentals,
occupancy shall be determined based
upon the number
properties managed by a property manager.
(13) Unless
a healthcare provider
instructs otherwise, all individuals shall wear a mask
or multilayer cloth face covering
in public settings
except when eating,
drinking, or exercising.
Further, all individuals should comply
with the "COVID-Safe Practices (CSPs) for All New Mexicans" section of the "All Together
New Mexico: COVID Safe Practices for Individuals and Employers".
(14) All casinos shall close during
the pendency of this Order.
This directive excludes
those casinos operating
on Tribal lands. Horse racing facilities may operate without spectators.
(15) This Order does not limit animal shelters,
zoos, and other facilities with animal care operations from performing tasks that ensure the health and welfare of animals. Those tasks should be performed with the minimum number of employees necessary, for the minimum
amount of time necessary, and with strict adherence to all social
distancing protocols.
(16) Golf courses may open provided
that they operate in accordance
with the "COVID-Safe Practices (CSPs) for Golf Course" section
of the "All Together
New Mexico: COVID-Safe Practices for Individuals and Employers".". Restaurants and other golf course concessions must adhere to operative CSP's.
(17) Outdoor
tennis facilities may open for outdoor use only and 1provided that they operate in accordance
with the pertinent
"All Together
New Mexico: COVID-Safe Practices for Individuals and Businesses".
(18) State
parks may open on a modified basis and subject to staff availability. They may only be open for day use. Camping
areas, visitor centers,
and any other large enclosed
indoor spaces normally open to the public shall
remain closed.
(19) Summer
youth programs may operate on a limited basis that complies with the pertinent CSP's set out
in the "All Together
New Mexico: COVID-Safe Practices for Individuals and Employers".
(20) The New Mexico
Department of Public Safety, the New Mexico
Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, the Department of the Environment, and all other State departments and agencies are authorized to take all appropriate steps to ensure
compliance with this Order.
(21) In order
to minimize the shortage of health care supplies and other necessary goods, grocery stores
and other retailers
are hereby directed
to limit the sale of medications, durable
medical equipment, baby formula, diapers,
sanitary care products,
and hygiene products
to three items per individual. NMSA 1978, § 12-IOA- 6 (2012).
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) Nothing in this Order is intended
to restrain or preempt local authorities from enacting more stringent restrictions than those required
by the Order.
(4) This Order shall take effect immediately and remain in effect through June 30, 2020.
I FURTHER ADVISE the public to take the
following preventive precautions:
-- New
Mexico citizens should stay at home and undertake only those outings absolutely
necessary for their health, safety, or welfare.
-- Retailers should take appropriate action
consistent with this order to reduce hoarding and ensure that all New Mexicans
can purchase necessary goods.
-- Avoid crowds.
-- Avoid all non-essential travel including
plane trips and cruise ships.
-- Self-quarantine or self-isolate for at least
fourteen days after all out-of-state travel.
ATTEST: DONE
AT THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE
THIS 1ST DAY OF JUNE 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