Metro COVID-19 test sites closing this week in Minnesota
Pop-up state COVID-19 testing sites are closing in St. Paul Thursday and Minneapolis and Bloomington Friday amid continued declines in pandemic activity.
While the closures take away some convenient options in the Twin Cities, state health officials said the sites had become redundant given the low rate of people seeking tests and the high number of clinics and medical facilities with testing capacity.
More than 10 million COVID-19 tests have been performed overall in Minnesota, but the usage rate has declined from 433 tests per 10,000 residents at the peak of the spring pandemic wave on April 15 to 152 on June 14.
"The sites are able to close as we make more progress on vaccines, see a steady decline in COVID-19 testing volumes, positivity rates and cases, and with free COVID-19 tests readily available at many local pharmacies," said Nick Kimball, a spokesman for the state's COVID-19 Response — noting drive-through testing at chain pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens.
The positivity rate of the diagnostic tests in Minnesota has declined as well — even though fewer tests have been performed — from 7.5% on April 8 to a low in the pandemic of 1.3%.
Minnesota on Wednesday reported five more COVID-19 deaths and 84 infections with the coronavirus that causes the respiratory disease, raising the state's pandemic totals to 7,555 deaths and 604,758 known infections. COVID-19 hospitalizations in Minnesota declined to 113 on Tuesday, down from a peak this spring of 699 on April 14.
COVID-19 testing remains free for recipients in Minnesota, regardless of the sites people use. State pop-up testing sites in Brooklyn Center and other locations will remain open — although the Worthington site was shut down in May because of declining demand.
While testing will cease at the Minneapolis Convention Center and Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul this week, vaccinations will continue at both sites.
Gov. Tim Walz was scheduled to appear at Allianz Field before the Minnesota United game on Wednesday to highlight a temporary vaccination site outside the stadium and to encourage more people to receive their shots.
While more than 3 million people have received at least first doses of COVID-19 vaccine in Minnesota, the state is on track to fall just short of its goal of providing vaccine to 70% of eligible people 16 and older by July 1. The current rate is 66.4%.
Vaccine eligibility was expanded to people 12 to 15 in mid-May after Minnesota set that goal. As with other groups, initial interest surged. More than 25% of Minnesotans in that age group had received vaccine within days of becoming eligible. However, interest has leveled off — as only 35% of that age group — 101,274 people — have received shots.
Testing capacity was limited when the pandemic emerged in 2020, but Minnesota stabilized its supplies last fall through a deal with Vault Health, which provided saliva testing kits and operated the state pop-up sites. The deal also included the opening of a processing facility in Oakdale by Infinity Biologix of New Jersey to expedite the turnaround time for saliva tests in Minnesota.
Jeremy Olson • 612-673-7744
