New Mexico Register / Volume XXXII,
Issue 10 /May 25, 2021
EXECUTIVE ORDER 2021-012
RENEWING THE STATE OF PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY INITIALLY
DECLARED IN EXECUTIVE ORDER 2020-004, OTHER POWERS INVOKED
IN
THAT ORDER, AND ALL OTHER ORDERS AND DIRECTIVES CONTAINED
IN
EXECUTIVE ORDERS TIED TO THE ONGOING PUBLIC HEALTH
EMERGENCY
On
December 31, 2019, several cases of pneumonia with an unknown cause were
detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, and reported to the World Health
Organization ("WHO"). The
underlying virus giving rise to those reported instances of respiratory illness
was later identified as a novel coronavirus disease which has been referred to
as "COVID-19."
By
the time the first COVID-19 cases had been confirmed in New Mexico, on March
11, 2020, COVID-19 had already spread globally and throughout the United
States. At that time, more than 100,000
people had been infected globally and there were more than 1,000 cases in the
United States, spread out over 39 states.
The President of the United States declared a national state of
emergency for COVID-19 on March 13, 2020.
As of April 29, 2021 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
("CDC") reported over 31 million people have been infected in the
United States, with over 570,000 related deaths, and the New Mexico Department
of Health has reported 197,447 positive COVID-19 cases and 4,058 related deaths
in New Mexico.
Public
health organizations have implemented emergency measures intended to slow the
spread of COVID-19. For example, on
January 20, 2020, the CDC activated its Emergency Operations Center in response
to the COVID-19 outbreak. The WHO
declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern shortly
thereafter. All of our sister states
have declared a state of emergency and implemented significant measures and
deployed substantial resources to fight the spread of COVID-19; many, if not
most, have kept such states of emergency in place.
New
Mexico has taken aggressive measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and to
mitigate its impacts. I have been in
frequent contact with federal and state agencies and officials who are
coordinating their efforts and resources to fight COVID-19. Various state agencies have been at the
forefront of our State's response to COVID-19, particularly the New Mexico
Department of Health. The hard work of a
variety of state employees has made a difference in our fight against COVID-19. Due to the continued spread of COVID-19, it
is necessary for all branches of State government to continue taking actions to
minimize transmission of COVID-19 and to reduce its attendant physical and
economic harms.
Therefore, for
the reasons above, I, Michelle Lujan Grisham, Governor of the State of New Mexico,
by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the
State of New Mexico, hereby ORDER and DIRECT:
1. In consultation with the New Mexico
Department of Health, I have determined that the statewide public health
emergency proclaimed in Executive Order 2020-004, and renewed in Executive
Orders 2020-022, 2020-026, 2020-030, 2020-036, 2020-053, 2020-55, 2020-059,
2020- 064, 2020-073, 2020-080, 2020-085, 2021-001, 2020-004 2021-010 and
2021-011 shall be renewed and extended through May 28, 2021.
2. All other powers, directives, and
orders invoked in Executive Order 2020-004 remain in effect.
3. All other Executive Orders with a
duration that was tied to the COVID-19 public health emergency or that was not
explicitly stated shall continue with the same effect, including any orders
appropriating emergency funding as well as Executive Orders 2020-016, 2020-020,
2020-021, 2020-025, and 2020-039.
This
Order supersedes any previous orders, proclamations, or directives in
conflict. This Executive Order shall
take effect on April 30, 2021 and shall remain in effect until May 28, 2021
unless renewed, modified, or rescinded.
ATTEST: DONE
AT THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE
THIS
30TH DAY OF APRIL 2021
/ S /
MAGGIE TOULOUSE
OLIVER WITNESS
MY HAND AND THE GREAT
SECRETARY OF
STATE SEAL
OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO
/ S /
MICHELLE
LUJAN GRISHAM GOVERNOR