New Mexico Governor Closes Roads to Virus-Stricken Small Town

While citizens in Michigan, Ohio, and North Carolina were continuing to protest what they perceived as “draconian” lockdown measures installed by their state officials, the Governor of New Mexico is taking things up a notch.

Instead of simply restricting what businesses are allowed to be open, or what parts of stores that individuals are allowed to shop in, the Land of Enchantment Governor is instead determining what cities New Mexicans are allowed to visit.

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham invoked the state’s Riot Control Act on Friday to essentially lock down the city of Gallup after its mayor requested that she do so on Thursday. Under the act, all roads leading into Gallup are now closed off “to mitigate the uninhibited spread of COVID-19 in that city.”

“Effective at 12 p.m., May 1, all roads into Gallup are closed. Businesses in the city of Gallup will close from 5 p.m. through 8 a.m. Vehicles may only have a maximum of two individuals. Residents of the city should remain at home except for emergency outings and those essential for health, safety and welfare,” Grisham’s office said in a press release.

Gallup, a city of nearly 22,000 people about 100 miles west of Albuquerque, has been particularly affected by the coronavirus. As of Friday, McKinley County, where Gallup is located, had 1,027 confirmed cases and 19 deaths, according to the New Mexico Department of Health. The county now has the highest number of cases in all of New Mexico, which has 3,411 cases in total.

The news comes as some southern states, notably Georgia, have begun to reopen for business – despite a growing number of coronavirus cases nationwide.