ST PAUL, Minn. — In the continuing effort to increase COVID-19 testing in order to slow down community spread by people who don't know they're sick, the state of Minnesota will open up 11 new testing sites across the state.
Most of the operations will be located in National Guard Armories, and will operate between three and five days a week through the end of the year. In addition to the expansion of on-site coronavirus testing, Minnesota's COVID-19 Test at Home program is now available to residents across the state. The mail-in saliva tests were previously available only in 32 counties and the Red Lake Nation.
“Minnesota is entering the most difficult phase of the pandemic yet,” said Minnesota Commissioner of Health Jan Malcolm. “We have record levels of new cases, high hospitalization numbers, and increased community spread. At the same time, we know promising vaccines are entering new stages of development.”
“Right now, our job is to build a bridge to that day when safe and effective vaccines are widely available," Malcolm continued. "We do that by working together to limit the impacts of COVID-19 on our families and communities through the simple steps we know make a difference. That includes social distancing, masking, avoiding crowds, staying home when sick, and getting tested when appropriate. This latest expansion of testing makes that last part easier by providing Minnesotans with an unprecedented level of access to COVID-19 tests, putting nearly every Minnesotan just three days from a test result."
Here is a list of the no-cost, barrier-free testing locations that will open in the coming weeks.
- Albert Lea National Guard Armory
410 Prospect Ave.
Opens Nov. 18 - Anoka National Guard Armory
408 Main Street E
Opens Nov. 17 - Crookston National Guard Armory
1801 University Ave.
Opens Nov. 16 - Fairmont National Guard Armory
700 N Fairlakes Ave.
Opens Nov. 18 - Hibbing National Guard Armory
2310 Brooklyn Dr.
Opens Nov. 18 - Hutchinson National Guard Armory
1200 Adams St. SE
Opens Nov. 30 - Inver Grove Heights
National Guard Armory
8076 Babcock Trail
Opens Nov. 17 - Morris National Guard Armory
722 Iowa Ave.
Opens Nov. 18 - Stillwater National Guard Armory
350 Maryknoll Dr. N.
Opens Nov. 16 - Wadena National Guard Armory
517 Jefferson St. N.
Opens Nov. 18
The sites at National Guard armories will be staffed by a combination of local public health staff and members of the Minnesota National Guard. Nearly 100 members of the National Guard are being deployed to provide support with logistics, registration, check in and check out, supply management and transportation. These long-term sites will replace the “pop-up” style of community testing events, which for the past several months would arrive in a community for 2-3 days of testing.
The 11th site will be at a location in the west metro that is not yet specified.
All of the new testing sites, as well as the mail order program, offer COVID-19 testing to any Minnesotan who wants to be tested, whether they have symptoms or not, and do not require insurance. Some sites will offer nasal swab testing, others will offer saliva testing. They will stay in operation until at least the end of the year to provide sustained testing capacity across the state.