Governor announces home tests

SANTA FE — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Tuesday announced New Mexicans are eligible for free, at-home COVID-19 saliva tests, with results returned within 24-48 hours of receipt of the sample.

The tests are available to residents at learn.vaultheath.com/nm, regardless of whether the resident has had COVID-19 symptoms or close contacts with COVID-positive individuals.

“We need more New Mexicans to get tested,” Lujan Grisham said in a news release. “We’ve worked hard every single day this year to make testing fast, easy and accessible to everyone. We ensured, from the very start, that cost would not be an obstacle for New Mexicans needing a COVID-19 test. And right now testing is one of the best ways to get New Mexico from ‘red’ to ‘green.’ We can drive down county positivity rates, help more businesses and workers get safely back on their feet, and keep more New Mexicans healthy. But it all starts with you, and it starts with getting a test. This is a very, very promising development.”

To allow for at-home testing, online video conferencing through Zoom with a testing supervisor is required. Individuals will be asked to share basic identifying information, including a date of birth, phone number and name. The test is free with or without insurance, but individuals with insurance will be asked to provide such information.

Once the test is self-administered with a virtual testing supervisor, it must be mailed back for lab processing. Test pick-ups and deliveries may be affected by UPS holiday hours.

“Testing is an absolutely essential tool in our fight against the virus,” said Health Secretary-designate Dr. Tracie C. Collins. “When we know who’s positive, we can isolate the virus and cut down on transmission. New Mexicans should have every confidence in the testing our state makes available. We will get through this crisis together, and testing is one of our best strategies for managing the pandemic.”

Locally, cases are somewhat on the decline in Curry County and on the rise in Roosevelt County over the last week.

Between Dec. 15 and Monday, Roosevelt County recorded 181 new COVID-19 cases compared to 144 for Curry County.

Monday saw Roosevelt record 17 cases, compared to 10 in Curry County. The state recorded a total of 826 cases and nine deaths on Monday, none local.

Sunday saw the state record 1,077 cases and 16 deaths, none local, with 12 Curry County cases and six Roosevelt County cases.

Saturday’s report from the state included a pair of local deaths in the 27 announced by the state — a Curry County man in his 30s with underlying conditions and a male in his 80s from Roosevelt County. Neither were hospitalized. The state recorded 1,442 cases, with 27 in Roosevelt County and 24 in Curry County.

For December, Curry County has recorded 592 cases, compared to 377 for Roosevelt County.

In other COVID-19 developments:

• On Tuesday, Plains Regional Medical Center reported 15 COVID-19 patients, with six in intensive care. That’s down one from Monday, with the ICU patient number unchanged. Over the weekend, the hospital had 16 patients Saturday and 15 Sunday, with five ICU patients each day.

• There were five local establishments — one in Clovis, four in Portales — on the state’s Monday Rapid Response Watchlist.

The watchlist includes any establishment that has had multiple rapid responses in the last 14 days. A rapid response is initiated by the state after a business informs the state an employee has tested positive for COVID-19. Rapid response measures include but are not limited to rapid testing of employees and location cleaning.

In Clovis, Southwest Cheese had two rapid responses. In Portales, La Casa Family Health Center had three rapid responses, while Walmart, Portales High and R.G. Lath and Plaster each had two.

An establishment that collects four rapid responses inside 14 days would be under consideration for a 14-day closure, but the state looks at each case on its own merits and has not closed any local establishment that has reached the threshold.

• The Federal Bureau of Investigation, along with other federal offices, is warning the public about fraud schemes tied to COVID-19 vaccines.

The FBI and others have received complaints of scammers using public interest in the vaccines to obtain personal information and money. The release notes to be aware of advertisements or requests to pay early access or a vaccine wait list, offers to undergo additional testing or procedures when obtaining a vaccine or messages that claim government officials require you to receive a vaccine.

Residents are advised to stay up to date with state health department websites, contact their primary care physicians before undergoing any vaccination and avoid providing personal information online or over the phone.

Fraud can be reported to the FBI at tips.fbi.gov or 800-CALL-FBI.