New Mexico official: Mass gatherings may be out for a year.

The Associated Press

Created: May 24, 2020 10:46 AM

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico state official says gatherings of more than 100 people may not be possible for more than a year because of the coronavirus pandemic, meaning that sports stadiums, concert halls and conference centers in the state could remain empty for months.

“I know a lot of events have been canceled this year,” Tourism Secretary Jen Paul Schroer said. “We may not have the ability to do a mass gathering until we have a vaccine or herd immunity. It could be a year or 18 months.”

Schroer spoke Thursday during a webinar Thursday on reopening the state’s hospitality industry, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.

The office of Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham concurred.

“It could be a long time before it is safe to have gatherings of more than 100,” Lujan Grisham spokeswoman Nora Meyers Sackett said Friday.

The state has nearly 6,800 cases with 308 deaths as of Saturday, with more than half of the cases originating in McKinley and San Juan counties in the northwest corner of the state.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/new-mexico-official-mass-gatherings-may-be-out-for-a-year/5740261/?