New Mexico health leaders bring virus testing to rural parts of Doña Ana County

MESILLA, New Mexico -- Because not everyone in the Borderland lives in the city or has access to transportation, the New Mexico Department of Health is bringing virus testing to various neighborhoods in southern New Mexico.

"We're focused on making sure we decrease barriers to testing," said John Kutinac with the New Mexico Department of Health. "Access to transportation is one of those barriers we are trying to eliminate as much as possible."

Staffers tested dozens of residents in the Town of Mesilla on Saturday, with plans to test in Chaparral and Hatch in the months to come.

Kutinac told ABC-7 that it's extremely important to test minority populations throughout the Borderland.

"Our ethnic, diverse populations, our Hispanic populations do have a higher incident rate of Covid-19," Kutinac said. "Those individuals tend to live in the rural communities. We want to do outreach to these communities."

For more information about COVID-19 and testing options available statewide, visit https://cv.nmhealth.org.

Testing remains free to the public.