National report rates New Mexico Department of Health high in health emergency preparedness

SANTA FE– The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) is now one of 25 states and the District of Columbia named high performers in the Trust for America’s Healthannual report on public health emergency preparedness. The news comes as NMDOH continues to monitor and respond to the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak originating in China.

Following updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Health asks anyone returning to New Mexico from China to call our 24-hour hotline at 505-827-0006 for guidance on how to protect yourself, your family, and your community from the novel coronavirus, even if you are not sick.

The Department of Health advises all in-state healthcare providers to stay proactive and vigilant with regards to 2019-nCoV, especially if they find themselves treating anyone returning home from China and presenting with fever and lower respiratory symptoms, like cough and shortness of breath.

“While we currently do not have a case of novel coronavirus in New Mexico, we remain on high alert and expect our medical community to do the same,” said Department of Health Cabinet Secretary Kathy Kunkel. “Our team at NMDOH is showing why they have risen to the top tier of states for our level of public health emergency preparedness.”

Ready or Not 2020: Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism is an annual report evaluating the level of readiness of state health departments nationwide. It is created by Trust for America’s Health, a non-partisan public health policy, research and advocacy organization.

New Mexico is one of eight states and the District of Columbia that rose to the high-performance tier because of readiness measures such as health security surveillance, patient safety and more.

The full report can be found online at https://www.tfah.org/report-details/readyornot2020/.

Information continues to be updated regularly about the novel coronavirus. Visit both theCDC website on 2019-nCoV and the New Mexico Department of Health novel coronavirus webpage at https://nmhealth.org/about/erd/ideb/ncov/ for the most up-to-date information.