New Mexico Register / Volume XXXII,
Issue 20 / October 26, 2021
PUBLIC HEALTH ORDER
NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
ACTING SECRETARY DAVID R. SCRASE, M.D.
October 15, 2021
Public Health Emergency Order Clarifying that Current Guidance
Documents, Advisories, and Emergency Public Health Orders Remain
in Effect; and Amending Prior
Public Health Emergency Orders to
Impose Certain Public Health
Measures
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"). While vaccines
are the most effective method to prevent the spread of COVID-19, masks, social distancing and
self-isolation
measures continue to be necessary to protect
New Mexicans who are ineligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine or who choose not
to receive a vaccine. All New Mexicans
should continue to adhere to social distancing protocols when required to
protect our State as a whole. In
accordance with these purposes, this Order and its exceptions should be narrowly construed
to encourage
New Mexicans continue social distancing
measures.
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Public Health Emergency or until they are amended of rescinded: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. December
15, 2020 Amended Public Health Emergency Order Implementing
Additional Contact Tracing Information Requirements for All Laboratories and
Submitters Submitting Notifiable Condition COVID- 19 Test Results to the New
Mexico Epidemiology and Response Division;
B. January 8, 2021 Emergency Order
Implementing Administration and Reporting Requirements for All COVID-19 Vaccine
Providers;
C. April 5, 2021 Amended Public Health
Emergency Order Temporarily Limiting Long-Term Care Facilities Visitation Due
to COVID-19;
D. February 26, 2021 Public Health
Emergency Order Implementing Administration Requirements for all COVID-19
Vaccine Providers and Requiring Accurate Information be Provided by Individuals
Registering to Receive the COVID-19 Vaccine; and
E. September 15, 2021 Amended Public
Health Emergency Order Requiring All School Workers Comply with Certain Health
Requirements and Requiring Congregate Care Facility Workers, Hospital Workers,
and Employees of the Office of the Governor Be Fully Vaccinated.
3. The September 15, 2021 Public Health Emergency Order
Clarifying that Current Guidance Documents, Advisories, and Emergency Public
Health Orders Remain in Effect; and Amending Prior Public Health Emergency
Orders to Impose Certain Public Health Measures 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
November 12, 2021;
WHEREAS, confirmed cases in the United
States have risen to more than 44 million and confirmed COVID-19 infections in
New Mexico have risen to over 262,000;
WHEREAS, COVID-19 is a deadly virus and
has taken the lives of over 700,000 Americans and over 4,900 New Mexicans;
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, vaccination, social
distancing and the consistent and proper use of face coverings in public spaces
are the most effective ways New Mexicans can minimize the spread of COVID-19
and mitigate 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 12-10A-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 gatherings
of people when deemed necessary by the Department for the protection of public
health.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, David R. Scrase,
M.D., Acting 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 NMSA 1978, Section 24-l-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.
I
HEREBY DIRECT AS FOLLOWS:
(1) Unless a healthcare provider
instructs otherwise, all individuals ages 2 years and older shall wear a mask
or multilayer cloth face covering in all indoor public settings except when
eating or drinking. Nothing in this Order
shall be construed as prohibiting any business, house of worship, non-profit
entity, or other entity from imposing more stringent requirements.
(2) Any business, establishment, or
non-profit (other than those which are a healthcare operation, utility, or
indigent care services) which members of the public regularly visit must report
to the New Mexico Environment Department when there is an occurrence of a rapid
response. The New Mexico Environment
Department shall monitor when an entity has four (4) or more rapid responses
within a fourteen (14) day period. For
purposes of this directive, rapid responses will be counted on a rolling
basis. Businesses, establishments, or
non-profits with four or more rapid responses shall not be required to cease
operations. However, the rapid responses
must be reported to the Environment Department so that the public may be made
aware of the positive cases.
(3) All businesses, establishments, and
non-profit entities must adhere to the pertinent COVID-Safe Practices
(4) Private educational institutions serving
children and young adults from pre- Kindergarten through 12th Grade, including
homeschools serving children who are not household members, shall adhere to the
face covering and other COVID-Safe Practices requirements for in person
instruction contained in the New Mexico's Public Education Department’s
"Reentry Guidance" and “COVID-19 Response Toolkit for New Mexico's
Public Schools”, available at https://webnew.ped.state.nm.us/reentry-district-and-school-guidance/,
and may operate up to maximum capacity.
Private educational institutions shall follow the reporting, testing,
and closure requirements set forth by the Public Education Department in the
Reentry Guidance and COVID-19 Response Toolkit for New Mexico’s Public
Elementary Schools.
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 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 November 12, 2021.
(5) The New Mexico Department of Health,
the New Mexico Department of Public Safety, the New Mexico Department of
Homeland Security and Emergency Management, and all other State departments and
agencies are authorized to take all appropriate steps to ensure compliance with
this Order.
(6) Any and all State officials authorized by the Department of
Health may enforce this Public Health Order by issuing a citation of violation,
which may result in civil administrative penalties of up to $5,000 for each
violation under NMSA 1978, Section 12-l0A-19.
ATTEST: DONE AT THE
EXECUTIVE OFFICE
THIS 15TH DAY OF OCTOBER 2021
/ S
/
WITNESS
MY HAND AND THE GREAT
MAGGIE TOULOUSE OLIVER SEAL OF
THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO
SECRETARY OF STATE
/ S /
DAVID R. SCRASE, M.D.
ACTING SECRETARY OF THE
NEW
MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH