New Mexico issues thousands of COVID-19 home tests to Artesia in Eddy County

More than 6,000 COVID-19 home test kits were headed to Eddy County this week, according to Eddy County’s Emergency Manager.

Jennifer Armendariz said the kits from the New Mexico Department of Health (DOH) were scheduled to arrive at her office on Jan. 20 and were intended to be distributed in Artesia. 

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and DOH secured over 1 million iHealth at-home rapid antigen tests for the state, to be initially distributed in areas of higher social vulnerability, read a DOH news release issued Jan. 18.

More:Carlsbad Municipal Schools testing site temporarily closed after staff tested positive for COVID-19

Per DOH, over 400,000 tests were received across New Mexico and more tests were set to arrive in the coming weeks.

Artesia was one of 79 zip codes in 26 New Mexico counties with the highest social vulnerability index (SVI) in New Mexico, according to DOH.

“The Social Vulnerability Index uses U.S. Census data to determine the relative social vulnerability of every census tract,” read information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“The SVI ranks each tract on 14 social factors and groups them into four related themes. Each tract receives a separate ranking for each of the four themes, as well as an overall ranking. The SVI can help emergency response planners and public health officials identify and map the communities that will most likely need support before, during, and after a hazardous event.”

Armendariz said Artesia ranked in the top 25 percent of New Mexico’s SVI.

“We stand to get 6,604 tests those will be delivered on Thursday (Jan. 20) to my office and we are to distribute them accordingly,” she said during the Jan. 18 Eddy County Board of County Commissioners meeting.

More:City of Carlsbad update: Additional COVID-19 tests on the way

Armendariz said Eddy County waited for direction from DOH to see if the tests go to the Artesia area or across the County.

She did not reveal an SVI score for Carlsbad during the meeting, but said the county seat did not qualify for the free tests. 

“Home testing (or self-testing) is one of several ways to reduce the spread of COVID-19 along with primary vaccination, getting your booster dose, wearing a mask indoors, and social distancing,” Dr. David Scrase, acting cabinet secretary of DOH.

“Part of learning to live with COVID as we go forward is putting the tools to fight the virus into our home, and home testing is one of the tools that in the long run will enable us to manage this pandemic.”

In the news release, DOH said after the initial allocation of tests, the program would expand based on available supply of tests to include a pro-rata distribution to counties across the state.

The Biden Administration announced a federal mail order home test program available to the general public starting Jan. 19.

Per USA Today, the website COVIDTests.gov directed people to a U.S. Postal Service website.

“Americans are supposed to be able to order four kits per address. Once ordered, tests are expected to be mailed within seven to 12 days,” read the USA Today article.

USA Today reported the site shared a message that "COVID-19 tests will start shipping in late January." The Postal Service will send only four free at-home tests to valid residential addresses, the site said.

More:Eddy County's COVID-19 positivity rate increases during holiday season

COVID-19 impacts MLK Holiday

DOH said 21,305 new COVID-19 cases were cited across New Mexico during the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday weekend spanning Jan. 15 to 18.

Per the latest released Jan. 18, New Mexico recorded 32 COVID-19 deaths during the holiday weekend. No deaths were reported in Eddy County.

More:Lincoln County Board of Commissioners address vaccine mandates, need for tests and staff

New Mexico had a seven-day positivity rate of 28.5 percent during the weekend, read a DOH news release.

Eddy County had 579 new COVID-19 cases during the MLK weekend. DOH said the county had 14,221 total cases since March 2020 with 144,721 total tests and 12,076 recovered as of Jan. 18.

DOH said a total of 9,088 Carlsbad residents tested positive for COVID-19 along with 4,129 Artesia residents since the pandemic began. 

Across New Mexico as of Jan. 18, 624 people were hospitalized in New Mexico for COVID-19.

“This number may include individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 out of state but are currently hospitalized in New Mexico. This number does not include New Mexicans who tested positive for COVID-19 and may have been transferred to a hospital out of state,” a DOH news release indicated.

Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 or by email at MSmith@currentargus.com or @ArgusMichae on Twitter.