MDH planning more COVID-19 testing options as demand surges

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COVID-19 testing site (FOX 9)

(FOX 9) - On Monday, the Minnesota Department of Health said the agency is seeing "unprecedented" demand for COVID-19 testing and now assessing their testing network while making plans to expand testing to Minnesotans.

In a statement, a representative for MDH said: "We are assessing our testing network and plan to expand testing capacity and announce more options for Minnesotans this week."

Minnesota leaders plan to expand COVID-19 testing

After another day where post holiday COVID-19 tests were harder to come by, the state says it's working to make tests more widely available.

In a tweet on Monday, MDH warned that wait times may be "longer than normal" because demand at their testing sites was so high.

On Monday, MDH also announced that because of overcrowding at their MSP Airport testing site, the site was moving to appointment-only, at least through Tuesday.

Vault, the company that partners with MDH to provide free, at-home testing kits delivered directly to Minnesotans, would cap the number of available tests on Monday due to demand.

At the free testing site in Brooklyn Park on Monday, some people getting tested said the line took as quick as 30 minutes or as long as more than two hours, depending on if you were getting a PCR test or rapid test.

In addition to the free community sites, MDH provides information on other health care provider sites that may be no-cost or low-cost to Minnesotans. Click here to find a list of community testing and health care provider sites.

Click here to learn more about the Minnesota Department of Health’s partnership with Vault and to order your free, at-home test delivered to your home.

Minnesotans can also find testing appointments through pharmacy providers like Walgreens and CVS. Most health care providers like Allina and Health Partners are not accommodating for walk-in testing but do have appointments available.