MDH: Families should get tested for COVID-19 every 2 weeks until end of school year

(FOX 9) - Minnesota health officials want families with children and teenagers who are back in the classroom or participating in sports or extracurricular activities to get tested for COVID-19 every two weeks through the end of the school year. 

The recommendation is part of the Minnesota Department of Health's new campaign focused on testing for young people, which launched on Wednesday. MDH says the campaign will include targeted outreach to families, health professionals, schools and youth organizations to encourage regular COVID-19 testing. 

Parents should either use at-home saliva tests or go to a community testing site, Assistant Health Commissioner Dan Huff said. Schools are not being told to take on this testing responsibility. 

Despite declining COVID-19 infection rates and an increasing number of people becoming vaccinated against the coronavirus, health officials say testing is still a critical part of the state’s COVID-19 response, especially as more students are returning to the classroom.

Gov. Tim Walz said he expects all schools in the state to offer some form of in-person learning by March 8.