As of Wednesday, March 11, 2020 there were no confirmed cases of Coronavirus in Las Cruces and City operations continued as normal. No events had been canceled at that time; however, the City of Las Cruces is taking additional precautions to help mitigate the potential spread of person-to-person illnesses.
This action followed Wednesday’s emergency declaration by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham after three New Mexico residents tested presumptive positive for COVID-19, the first confirmed cases in the state. Two of the cases are a Socorro County husband and wife, both in their 60s, with known recent international travel to Egypt. Both are at home in isolation. The third case is a woman in her 70s in Bernalillo County with known recent travel to the New York City area. She is also isolated at home. By noon Thursday, March 12, 2020 five presumptive positive cases of the disease had been reported in the state, all of those in northern New Mexico.
Consistent with direction from the governor, the City is temporarily suspending all non-essential out-of-state travel to affected areas.
Also, associates of Building Services, which is under the Public Works Department, will increase the frequency of sanitizing “high-touch” surfaces in City facilities such as door handles, elevator buttons, water fountains, countertops and other surfaces. They will also increase the number of hand sanitizing stations in City facilities and will leave certain doors open during business hours to reduce having to touch door handles.
As a continued precautionary measure, the City asks residents to do the following to help reduce the risk of exposure:
- Avoid person-to-person contact.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially after you have been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
- If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub them together until they feel dry.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Stay home if you are sick, except to get medical care. For symptoms similar to coronavirus, see link below for instructions on how to seek medical attention.
- Wipe down your areas with disinfectant wipes.
More information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is available at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/faq.html or call the New Mexico Department of Health Coronavirus Hotline at 1/855-600-3453.
To help limit person-to-person contact, customers of Las Cruces Utilities can pay their utility bills in a variety of ways other than bringing payments to City Hall:
- Sign up for auto-draft by emailing utilities customer service staff at customerservice@las-cruces.org.
- Deposit payments, no cash please, in the drop box located between City Hall and Thomas Branigan Memorial Library.
- Pay by phone with credit or debit card by calling 866-426-9757.
- Pay Online at:
- Online bill pay with your bank’s online bill pay service
- Pay by mail. Mail checks or money orders to:
- City of Las Cruces
- Attn: Cashiers
- P.O. Box 20000
- Las Cruces, NM 88004
- Pay in person with cash at the following Western Union location: (There is a $1 fee for this service.)
Lowes #57, 2180 N. Main St.
Lowes #58, 1410 Missouri Ave.
Mr. Payroll, 2240 Missouri Ave.
The City will continue to assess this fluid situation and take appropriate action as warranted.