It's not surprising because Los Alamos, home to Los Alamos Labs and thousands of six figure jobs, is one of the richest counties in America, the most White of the state's counties, the one with the most educational achievement, the one with the most high speed broadband connections, the lowest child poverty rate and a county with very few front line workers. 

Of course Los Alamos is an anomaly, first established basically as an insular federal colony that never faced the historic problems that other counties have. Still, if the most troubled areas of the state could jump just a small percentage in the social condition standings, we could easily vault to near the middle of the pack from last in the nation.

The following is not meant to be a fair comparison but the disparity in living conditions between the least exposed coronavirus county and the most exposed is stark, like comparing a first world nation to one in the third world. We offer it as an eye-opener on the formidable divide facing the state.

McKinley is the county that has the highest coronavirus cases. While Los Alamos is the most White county at 87 percent. McKinley is the most minority with Native Americans making up 80 percent of the population, according to 2019 Census Estimates.

Median household income in Los Alamos is over $115,000; in McKinley it's $31,000. In Los Alamos 98 percent of adults have a high school degree and 66 percent have a Bachelor's degree or higher; in McKinley 75 percent have a high school degree and 12 percent a Bachelor's degree or more.

During this decade the population of McKinley, now 71,000, has declined 0.2 percent. In Los Alamos, population 18,000, the growth rate has been 8 percent, thanks largely to the expansion of nuclear weapons work.

In Los Alamos 91 percent of households have a computer and 86 percent have broadband. In McKinley 59% have a computer and 43 percent have broadband. 

The state's poorest counties are not going to be hotbeds of high-paying jobs like Los Alamos anytime soon but more educational achievement and more broadband are obtainable goals.

The switch to a three tiered, county by county coronavirus model was a major reversal for MLG who until now has favored the shutdown model. But with unemployment and other federal relief programs expiring and no signs yet of a congressional extension, the economic pain is growing. And the public is growing increasingly antsy, with more examples of the public health order being flouted and holiday gatherings numerous despite official warnings.

The next big decision will be whether to send NM kids back to classrooms as many of them fall behind and as parents struggle with the burden. There was some encouraging news on that front Sunday from Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease specialist:

Fauci addressed the school issue, saying that spread “among children and from children is not really very big at all, not like one would have suspected. So let’s try to get the kids back, but let’s try to mitigate the things that maintain and just push the kind of community spread that we’re trying to avoid,” he said. 

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