Data on local COVID-19 testing remains elusive
More than 14,000 New Mexicans have been tested for the COVID-19 virus, but the number of people tested in San Miguel or Mora counties is difficult to determine.
Data provided by the New Mexico Department of Health does not detail the number of tests given in particular counties, and according to Nora Meyers Sackett, a spokeswoman for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, the governor’s office only tracks the positive cases detected in each county, not the total number of tests performed.
San Miguel County Emergency Manager Leo Maestas said about 33 people were tested at the March 20 drive-through testing site in Las Vegas. Beyond that, he doesn’t know how many other tests have been given in the county, and he has also had trouble getting exact numbers from state officials. Maestas said officials have cited HIPAA, a federal privacy law, when denying his requests for specific data.
“The state is reluctant to give me that information because of HIPAA, so the only thing I can track is what we tested (on March 20) at our testing site,” he said. “That’s really the only number I can come up with at this point.”
According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ website, under HIPAA, information can be disclosed to a county agency for public health purposes as long as it excludes “direct identifiers” such as names, addresses (other than city), telephone numbers, medical record numbers or other personal information.
Gov. Lujan Grisham Tuesday announced changes in criteria used to determine who should be tested, expanding current guidelines to include people who aren’t showing symptoms of the coronavirus but who have had close contact with someone diagnosed with it, those who live in a nursing home or those who have been in settings where lots of people were present.
Residents of San Miguel and Mora counties should soon have two new opportunities to get tested. Maestas said he is working with state health officials to bring a testing site to Wagon Mound in the coming days, and that a second day of testing in Las Vegas is also in the works.
Alta Vista Regional Hospital is currently offering limited drive-through testing, but Maestas stressed the testing is only open to people who have already been screened for the coronavirus and have been referred to Alta Vista for a full test.
“Alta Vista is testing for one hour a day, between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., but that is only with a doctor or physician’s order in hand,” Maestas said. “If you haven’t done that, you’ll be turned away because the hospital doesn’t have the capacity to test everybody.”
Supplies of personal protective equipment, or PPE, have been a concern nationwide, and leaders in San Miguel County have been concerned about the availability of PPE as well. However, Maestas said the county recently received an allotment of PPE from the National Guard, which he has distributed between Alta Vista, the city’s fire department and the San Miguel County Detention Center.
Maestas urged everyone to continue to wash their hands, practice social distancing and to utilize resources on the state’s coronavirus website, such as the self-screening tool that helps determine who should be tested for the coronavirus.
The website is located at cv.nmhealth.org.
