Colorado Back on New Mexico’s List of Restricted States

Are you planning a trip across Colorado's southernmost state line into New Mexico? If so, you might want to change your plans.

According to KRDO, crossing from Colorado into New Mexico will result in a 14-day quarantine. It appears Colorado made the naughty list of restricted states.

According to nmhealth.org, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and the state of New Mexico, in order to mitigate the widespread community transmission of COVID-19, are enforcing self-isolation for persons traveling into New Mexico from high-risk areas. Please note, this includes anyone traveling by airplane, public transportation, or vehicle.

Don't feel bad. The new list of the "restricted states," posted on September 23, includes a total of 40 states. What does a state have to do in order to make this list?

According to the health order, the criteria for a "high risk" state includes:

• 5% positivity rate or greater over a 7-day rolling average
• positive test rate greater than 80 per 1 million residents

People visiting New Mexico from states on the list "must physically separate from others in a residence or place of lodging for at least 14 days from the date of their entry into New Mexico."

Okay, so what if you're only going to be in New Mexico for seven days? How about two days? For that matter, what if you're only visiting for a few hours? If you're not staying a full 14 days, you'll just stay isolated for the duration of your trip, according to the state.

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There are a number of exemptions, far too many to list here. One that will be mentioned includes those who can show documentation of a valid negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours before or after entry into New Mexico.

To be perfectly blunt, I honestly believe the last time I set foot in New Mexico was back in 1996 when I played at the Top Deck in Farmington. I honestly don't think I've been back since. Even without the health order, I had no real plans to visit anytime in the foreseeable future.