Although the number of COVID-19 cases is on a downward trajectory at the national and state levels, New Mexico isn’t in a hurry to rescind its mask mandate.

“The preponderance of evidence, I think, is very clear that masks work to prevent the spread of disease, and I think when things cool down in the hospital, we’re planning on rescinding the mask order,” New Mexico Department of Health Acting Secretary Dr. David Scrase said in a KRQE report. 

In response to national trends that indicate a slowdown in the transmission of the virus, other states have moved to remove mask mandates by the end of March, according to KRQE.

“We don’t really make decisions in New Mexico, for New Mexicans, based on what other people are doing in other states; we use our own data,” Scrase said.

Nationally, the daily average of cases has dropped to 106,696, a decrease of 65% from early February, tracking numbers from the New York Times show.

While Scrase said he’d like to see the mandate lifted, too, he told KRQE the state must let science and data determine that decision.