New Mexico Mass Gatherings Might Not Happen for a Year

Mass gatherings of over 100 people might not happen for a year in New Mexico because of the coronavirus pandemic, says state Tourism Secretary Jen Paul Schroer.

"I know a lot of events have been canceled this year," Schroer said last Wednesday on reopening the state's hospitality industry. "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."

A spokeswoman for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham agreed.

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

New Mexico over 7,000 confirmed coronavirus cases with 320 deaths as of late Monday afternoon. Of those that have tested positive, 2,522 — or about 36% — have recovered.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases, told CNBC on Friday, stay-at-home orders intended to curb the spread of the coronavirus could end up causing "irreparable damage" if imposed for too long.

"I don't want people to think that any of us feel that staying locked down for a prolonged period of time is the way to go," Fauci said during an interview with CNBC's Meg Tirrell on "Halftime Report."

"But now is the time, depending upon where you are and what your situation is, to begin to seriously look at reopening the economy, reopening the country to try to get back to some degree of normal."

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