Minnesotans line up in frigid cold for COVID-19 test in Brooklyn Park
A line stretches down the sidewalk outside a COVID-19 test site in Brooklyn Park. (FOX 9)
BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. (FOX 9) - On Sunday, some people getting a COVID-19 test at the free, state-run site in Brooklyn Park said it took more than an hour to get through the line.
The Brooklyn Park location was one of a few state testing sites open on Sunday. With many people returning to school and work on Monday, demand for tests is high.
"We had COVID over Christmas so this was just to recheck to go back to work tomorrow," one person getting tested said.
Some school districts like Minneapolis and Burnsville-Eagan-Savage are encouraging students to get tested before returning to the classroom Monday and stay home if they’re experiencing symptoms.
This weekend many people trying to order a free, at-home PCR test through the Minnesota Department of Health’s free testing program learned that the company making and shipping the tests, Vault, put a cap on the number of free tests available. When Minnesotans logged on to order the test a message told them "all available test kids have been shipped for today."
A representative for Vault told FOX 9 the cap was only in place for three days with a total of 1,500 tests available state-wide.
"We put in place these temporary daily caps for all of our state programs for this holiday weekend, based on the extremely high demand and reduced shipping hours," the representative said.
Normal operations for the at-home Vault PCR tests should resume on Monday.
Many state testing sites are increasing their hours of operation this week. For more information on testing sites, you can click here.