Minnesota Gets Coronavirus Testing Breakthrough: Health Officials

TWIN CITIES, MN — Gov. Tim Walz, representatives of the state’s health care delivery systems, the Mayo Clinic, and the University of Minnesota Wednesday announced a "breakthrough" for "rapid, widespread testing" of the new coronavirus in the state.

Together, they launched a statewide testing strategy 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, officials say the increased testing and tracing will help improve control of this pandemic and support the safe reopening of society.

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The partnership announced Wednesday aims to assure that every person in the state with symptoms of COVID-19 gets tested, the partners said in a news release. Funded in part by $36 million from the COVID-19 Minnesota Fund, they will establish capacity to deliver 20,000 molecular and 15,000 serology tests per day.

The partnership will improve control of COVID-19 in Minnesota through increased public health surveillance and research, according to officials. The Minnesota Department of Health and its public health partners will simultaneously expand contact tracing efforts for better control of the infection.

The partnership will also help to identify and respond to emerging “hotspots” of infection, according to Walz's office. They will collect data on prevalence, geographic distribution, and barriers to care for the virus, and they will conduct groundbreaking research on COVID-19 to assure that tests are applied according to the best emerging science.

“We are pleased to roll out this new testing effort in partnership with the University of Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic,” Commissioner of Health Jan Malcolm said in a statement. “Having this greatly increased testing capacity will improve our understanding of how COVID-19 is spreading in Minnesota, and will provide key data to inform our decisions about how to protect Minnesotans.”

In partnership with MDH, the Mayo Clinic and the U of M will create a central lab to accommodate the expanded testing and a virtual command center in coordination with the health systems to monitor daily testing needs and coordinate rapid responses to outbreaks.

"I strongly support a comprehensive statewide SARS-CoV-2 testing program bringing together both core clinical laboratory and public health surveillance expertise," said Dr. Michael Osterholm, Regents Professor and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.

The expanded testing will include intensive testing of:

• Vulnerable populations, including Minnesotans living in congregate settings and those experiencing homelessness
• Staff that serve vulnerable populations and health care workers
• Minority populations
• Workforce for critical infrastructure.

“When Minnesota faces a challenge, we rise up—together,” Walz said. “I’m proud to partner with Minnesota’s innovative health care systems and leading research institutions to pioneer how states can begin to move forward amid COVID-19.”

COVID-19 deaths steadily rise in Minnesota

Nineteen more people have died from the coronavirus, the Minnesota Department of Health announced Wednesday, breaking the previous single-day increase of deaths from the virus.

The state's death toll from COVID-19 is now at 179. Read more here.