The New Mexico governor says her state is ‘at the mercy of what is happening across the country’

New Mexico Government Michelle Lujan GrishamMichelle Lynn Lujan Grisham, new governor of Mexico, says her state is “ at the mercy of what’s happening across the country, ” the White House, Congress talks about the upcoming coronavirus relief bill while COVID -19 continues to rise The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by Argentum – All eyes on Florida as daily COVID-19 cases reach 15K MORE (D) said Sunday that his state is “at the mercy of what is happening across the country.”

Lujan Grisham called the United States’ COVID-19 response the “worst abdication” of the “responsibility to protect Americans I have seen” during an interview on ABC’s “This Week”.

The governor affirmed that “there is no national strategy” and “there is no investment in public health.”

“There is no national strategy,” he said. “I still spend most of my days chasing test supplies for our state. It is the worst abdication of a national response and the responsibility to protect Americans I have seen in my career in government. “

Pressured by @gstephanopoulos on whether it’s time to take additional action with the increase in COVID cases, New Mexico Governor Lujan Grisham criticizes the federal response: “It is the worst abdication of a national response and the responsibility to protect the Americans I’ve seen. ” https://t.co/o405cfh1Ad pic.twitter.com/Hl7Z5kq920

– This week (@ThisWeekABC) July 26, 2020

The New Mexico governor described both the case count and the number of deaths in the state as “too high,” even after he paused to reopen last month. Lujan Grisham attributed the continued increase to people traveling across the country.

“While we have one of the lowest positivity rates in the country, in which we work diligently, what is happening across the country affects everyone in the country,” he added. “We are moving and traveling.”

“We are at the mercy of what is happening across the country,” he said.

Lujan Grisham also attributed the COVID-19 outbreaks at correction facilities to the movement of Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees without testing.

New Mexico has counted 18,788 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, leading to 2,542 hospitalizations and 607 deaths, according to state data. The state recorded its largest single-day increase in new cases Thursday with 335 registered.

The governor criticized Trump in his interview for canceling the Republican convention in Jacksonville, Florida, for security reasons, but continued to demand that schools be reopened “immediately.”

Lujan Grisham stated last week that classes will remain virtual until at least September 7, as the federal government encourages schools to prepare for in-person instruction in the fall.