Testing for COVID-19 in Minnesota should get easier soon, thanks to the Minnesota Department of Health announcing that it is ordering an additional 1.8 million at-home tests and opening three community testing sites on Thursday.
Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm announced that her office is in daily contact with at-home COVID testing kit manufacturers as they attempt to make testing easier.
The announcement also comes at a time when new cases of COVID-19 continue to rise with the spread of the highly infectious omicron variant.
The rise in cases has created a new demand for testing, prompting the opening of more community testing sites and an expansion of the Roy Wilkins Auditorium site in St. Paul.
Two community COVID testing sites will open in Anoka and Cottage Grove tomorrow, and a third will open next week in North Branch.
Testing has been an issue with the recent jump in cases, and part of the reason is not only the need for tests but also the need for staff at testing centers.
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Dr. Michael Osterholm talked about this with News Talk 830 WCCO's Vineeta Sawkar when he said that the omicron variant will hit like a "viral blizzard."
"It's not just, 'Are tests available?'" Osterholm said. "But, 'Are you going to have people that can run the testing center?' 'Are you going to have people who work in the laboratories that do the tests?'"
Addressing staffing as an issue, Malcolm shared that the Minnesota National Guard will be helping staff the three new sites, and Lt. Colonel Brian Douty shared they are ready to go.
"We have done extensive training throughout all this process to make sure we are mission ready," Douty said.
Governor Tim Walz shared that he is pushing for more funding for the Minnesota National Guard in his supplemental budget request, set to be released in a few weeks.
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The governor shared he is grateful for the work the National Guard has done throughout the pandemic and their commitment to helping their communities.
"People tell me time and time again… 'these people are incredible' and [they're] naming soldiers by name," Walz said of National Guard members working long-term care facilities.
"These are folks that last week were doing their civilian jobs and doing their military jobs, got trained, and now they're in a long term care facility taking care of what could be our parents, grandparents, or people recovering and coming out of hospitals," the governor said praising them for their work.
Malcolm also announced Thursday that the state is updating its COVID-19 isolation protocols to match the CDC's guidance of five days after a positive COVID test.
