New Mexico Register / Volume XXXII,
Issue 3 / February 9, 2021
PUBLIC HEALTH ORDER
NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
SECRETARY-DESIGNATE TRACIE C. COLLINS, M.D.
JANUARY 29, 2021
Amended Public Health Emergency Order Temporarily
Limiting Long-Term Care Facilities Visitation Due to COVID-19
WHEREAS, on January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization
announced the emergence of a novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 ("COVID-19
") that had not previously circulated in humans, but has been found to
have adopted to humans such that it is contagious and easily spread from one
person to another and one country to another;
WHEREAS, COVID-19 has been confirmed in New Mexico since March 11,
2020, when the New Mexico Derailment of Health confirmed the first cases of
individuals infected with COVID-19 in New Mexico and additional cases have been
confirmed each day since then;
WHEREAS, on March 11, 2020, because of the spread of COVID-19 ,
Michelle Lujan Grisham, the Governor of the State of New Mexico, issued
Executive Order 2020-004 declaring 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 G1isham has renewed the
declaration of a Public Health Emergency through February 5, 2021;
WHEREAS, the further spread of COVID-19 in the State of New Mexico
poses a threat to the health, safety, and wellbeing of residents of long-term
facilities, who are particularly vulnerable due to their age and underlying
health conditions;
WHEREAS, in the effort to stop further spread of COVID-19, the
State, through the New Mexico Department of Health, has begun to distribute
COVID-19 vaccine to long-term care facility residents and employees but has not
yet completed the vaccination process, leaving those residents vulnerable;
WHEREAS, social-distancing remains the most effective ways to
minimize the spread of COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, the New Mexico Department of Health possess legal
authority pursuant to the Public Health Act, NMSA, 1978, Sections 24-1-1 to -40
the Public Health Emergency Response Act, NMSA 1978, 12-lOA-1 to -19, 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 gathering of people when deemed necessary by the
Department for the protection of public health.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Tracie C. Collins,
M.D., Secretary-Designate 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 ORDER and DIRECT as follows:
(1) All Long-Term Care Facilities must
stay appraised of and comply with the applicable directives and guidelines
issued by the Department of Health in consultation with the Aging and Long-Term
Services Department and the Governor’s Long-Term Care Medical Advisory Team,
which may be found at: https://cv.nmhealth.org/long-term-care-guidelines/.
(2) For purposes of this Order,
“Long-Term Care Facilities” include nursing homes, assisted living facilities,
adult day cares, hospice facilities, and rehabilitations facilities with older
adult patients.
I FURTHER ORDER AND 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 shall not abrogate any
disease-reporting requirements set forth in the Public Health Act.
(3) Any person who willfully violates
this Order may be subject to civil administrative penalties available at law.
(4) This Order shall take effect on
January 29, 2021 and remain in effect for the duration of the public health
emergency first declared in Executive Order 2020-004 and any subsequent
renewals of that public health emergency declaration unless otherwise
rescinded.
I ADVISE other facilities where older
adults reside, or that provide services to older adults, to review the
restrictions set forth in this Order and to implement whatever lawful
restrictions or conditions of entry they deem necessary to protect health and
safety.
I ADVISE that nothing in this Order
shall be interpreted to prohibit Long-Term Care Facilities from imposing any
other lawful restrictions or conditions of entry that they deem necessary to protect
the health and safety of their residents.
ATTEST:
DONE AT THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE
THIS 29TH DAY OF JANUARY
2021
/ S
/
WITNESS MY HAND AND THE GREAT
MAGGIE TOULOUSE OLIVER SEAL
OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO
SECRETARY OF STATE
/ S /
TRACIE C. COLLINS, M.D.
SECRETARY-DESIGNATE OF THE STATE OF
NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH