As part of the state’s effort to provide widespread, rapid COVID-19 testing, Gov. Tim Walz on Friday, April 24, unveiled a new website to help Minnesotans find a testing location within their community.
That website currently lists Essentia Health-Baxter Clinic in Crow Wing County and Sanford-Walker Clinic in Cass County as testing sites.
“Access to COVID-19 testing is critical to moving Minnesota forward during this pandemic,” Walz said in a news release. “This tool will help make our widespread testing initiative accessible to all Minnesotans, and it’s a direct result of our partnership with the cutting-edge health care sector in Minnesota.”
This testing collaborative now includes 127 clinics and health care facilities across the state. The new COVID-19 website provides easy access to Minnesotans’ closest testing site, offers general information related to the COVID-19 outbreak, and provides an interactive screening tool to help Minnesotans determine if they need a test.
This interactive testing site allows the state to coordinate with local public health and tribal organizations that have strong connections to the communities they serve.
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“Aggressive and expanded testing is an essential part of our overall strategy to mitigate this pandemic,” Commissioner of Health Jan Malcom said in the news release. “As we strive to reach our goal of testing up to 20,000 people per day, we must do everything we can to expand access points across the state. This work is literally saving lives.”
On April 22, Walz, representatives of the state’s health care delivery systems, the Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota announced a breakthrough for rapid, widespread testing of COVID-19 in Minnesota to test all symptomatic people, isolate confirmed cases and expand public health surveillance tools.
By building capacity to test as many as 20,000 Minnesotans per day, this increased testing and tracing will support the state’s response to the pandemic and the safe re-opening of society.
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