All New Mexico public schools will be closed for three weeks starting Monday, March 16.

On March 11, Governor Lujan Grisham declared a state of emergency in New Mexico.

As of March 13, there were six reported cases of the Coronavirus. These victims include a married couple in Socorro who had recently traveled to Egypt, a woman in Bernalillo, and most recently a woman in Santa Fe county who had just returned from New York. Most of the victims are in their 60s and 70s and have recently traveled out of the state.

Dr. Veronica C. Garcia, Superintendent of Santa Fe Public Schools, sent out a letter to staff stating, “The District leadership and I have developed a Pandemic Prevention, Preparation, Response and Recovery Procedural Manual…. I will be providing all staff with more guidance.  But I assure you that the District is well prepared for other developments that may arise as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.” She also cancelled all travel and field trips that were to be sponsored by SFPS.”

Dr. Garcia said the District will continue to keep up to date on the virus in the state, and adding, “We are encouraging all Santa Fe residents to enroll in Alert Santa Fe, an emergency notification system that will allow the city to provide important information quickly, efficiently and accurately.”

SFPS students will be doing online school for two weeks after spring break. Students will work on classwork in Open Access, and some teachers will be also posting on Google Classroom. Every student was told to make sure they have a working Chromebook and a charger before leaving school for the three weeks. Students are advised to continue to talk to their teachers by emailing or texting them.

The New Mexico Department of Health and the Public Education Department says to help avoid the virus, if you are sick, you should stay home, avoid shaking hands, and always wash your hands.

For updates of the virus in the state go to https://cv.nmhealth.org. And for alerts in Santa Fe go to https://www.santafenm.gov/alertsantafe.