CDC map show flu cases in New Mexico remain ‘very high’

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – As the number of flu cases decrease across the country, New Mexico is one of seven states where flu activity is still “very high.”

New Mexico is marked in “purple” on the latest CDC flu map, and states can’t get higher than that for the week ending on Dec. 17. Even so, the biggest worry right now is COVID-19.

Nationwide, COVID-related hospitalizations are up 7% over the last few weeks. Hospitalizations jumped more than 40% in just one week in Wyoming.

”It’s essentially quadrupled,” said Dr. Hany Atallah to NBC News. “We saw COVID it was like in the teens, maybe three or four weeks ago it was relatively low. We saw that number jump up to the mid to high 90s about a week ago or so.”

According to the latest data provided by New Mexico health officials, hospitalizations are at 130. Much lower than the number of hospitalizations we’ve seen at various points in the pandemic.

But with so many people gathering and traveling, the number of cases for any illness could still go higher.

“If you’re traveling nowadays, make sure you’re wearing a mask. Obviously, it’s even better if you’re wearing a mask and have a vaccine. If you can schedule travel at time where ‘s a less busy travel time, which of course is difficult this time of season, that’s a good idea as well,” said Atallah.