Minnesota Increases Coronavirus Testing Capacity

ST. PAUL, Minn.– Today was Minnesota’s deadliest day yet from Coronavirus with 19 deaths and 154 new infections.

This afternoon Minnesota Governor Tim Walz held a news conference with health experts from around Minnesota with an important update on the next steps the state is taking to try to contain the virus.

On the state’s deadliest day from Coronavirus, Governor Walz said the state now has the capability to test up to 20,000 Minnesota residents per day for the virus.

“We have work to do and we are going to band together to get it done,” said Gov. Tim Walz.

While it will likely take a few weeks to get up to full speed, Governor Walz says expanded testing will help the state try to contain the virus from infecting more Minnesotans.

“The work that’s been done to put Minnesota at the forefront of making sure we can test and then just as importantly trace, and then equally important isolate those cases. So we can get on top of hotspots,” said Gov. Walz.

The Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota Department of Health will create a central lab to help with expanded testing and a virtual command center to manage the flow of testing.

The healthcare centers will help oversee the contact tracing efforts to try to contain the infection.

Governor Walz said the state’s Coronavirus fund will chip in $36 million to help bring up the number of tests.

Testing will be done statewide and state officials said every symptomatic person will be tested as soon as possible, along with other vulnerable populations.

“This is personal,” said Dr. Jakub Tolar, Dean of the University of Minnesota Medical School. “2,000 people is a statistic. If this was your grandmother, this is not a statistic.”

The 20,000 tests per day will also allow healthcare workers to have more access to having them tested. Meaning that they will no longer have to self-isolate for two weeks if they feel sick but can’t get a test.

State officials say that testing will be able to be done at local hospitals in the near future and that the tests will be free.

“We have a commitment that no Minnesotan is not going to get a test because they can’t afford it or they don’t have coverage,” said Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm. “This is to test every Minnesotan with specific focus on vulnerable populations.”

The Stay at Home Order is still set to end May 4. Walz did not give an update today on when the state will reopen.