For a day, at least, a bit of relief. New Mexico’s COVID-19 case numbers, which had been pushing toward the 2,000 mark on a daily basis, fell to under 1,000 in Tuesday’s report from the state Department of Health.

Whether the dip was a one-day phenomenon or a sign of things to come is uncertain — cases have fluctuated greatly in the past. State health officials are scheduled to hold a weekly news conference Wednesday.

The state had 969 new cases of the coronavirus, including 31 in Santa Fe County. However, there were 11 more deaths from COVID-19, most from Eastern New Mexico. Five of the victims were from Lea County. That brings the state’s death count to 5,430. Of the new cases, 341 were in Bernalillo County and 108 in Sandoval County. The state said 666 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 on Tuesday.