As the number of new COVID-19 cases decreases statewide, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said her administration is focused on ensuring schools can remain open safely.
"It is our responsibility to keep our kids safe and keep our kids learning," Lujan Grisham tweeted Thursday. "We're doing everything in our power to make sure children are academically succeeding in classrooms in a way that is protective of students and teachers."
With a new indoor mask mandate extended for at least another month, the number of new cases involving public schools has decreased over the past week, according to the Albuquerque Journal. Kurt Steinhaus, Public Education Secretary-designate said that infectious cases in schools for staff and students had decreased from 806 to 504 over the week, equaling a 37% decline.
A recent surge in cases prompted 30 schools statewide to temporarily shift to remote learning, the Albuquerque Journal reported, though there had been no discussions about returning to a statewide remote learning setting. Steinhaus said that the New Mexico Public Education Department has not yet had to close down any schools.
Moving forward, officials have been working to extend the number of COVID-19 testing options, including access to on-site testing for school staff and students. This increase in testing has led to a decline in the test positivity rate among school staffers from 4.5% in early August to around 0.75% as of last week, the Albuquerque Journal reported.