The New Mexico Department of Health is hoping to expedite COVID-19 testing in the state.
After Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) decided to place a mandate for employees in certain fields to be tested for COVID-19 weekly if they are not vaccinated, the NMDOH made the decision to look into a more rapid approach to testing, KRQE reports.
“We do need to be patient and recognize with so many people testing, you know, we can only work so fast collectively in the health world to be able to get those test results back, you know expect to wait a few days,” David Morgan, a spokesperson with NMDOH said, according to KRQE.
The station reported that more than 172,000 COVID-19 tests were done in the last two weeks, compared to 80,000 the same time last year.
“When my son had to get tested because he came into contact with somebody ... that took forever," Evita Sinclaire told KRQE. "It was about five days to wait for him to get it. And I was like pacing, like please hurry you know, I don’t want him to have anything, but luckily we were good."
KRQE reports that some tests were sent outside of New Mexico for processing, which slowed thnigs down further.
If residents of New Mexico are required to have a weekly test for work, KRQE reports that the NMDOH is recommending that they use Vault testing, which allows COVID-19 tests to be delivered to their doorstep on a weekly basis.