Associated Press

The New Mexico Department of Health says it has capacity to test for coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, with tests kits provided by the federal government.

The agency announced Tuesday that kits from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are allowing the Department of Health to test several hundred patients for the coronavirus without having to send samples out of state for analysis.

Health Secretary Kathy Kunkel says testing kits will be provided at no cost to New Mexico residents.

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Screening is being considered for people with signs of the illness who test negative for more common respiratory illnesses and have traveled to a countries including China, South Korea, Italy and Iran.