Minnesota Report
One way to wade out of this COVID-19 pandemic is to utilize our domestic resources. Yesterday, Governor Tim Walz (DFL-MN) announced a partnership between the University of Minnesota, the Mayo Clinic and the Minnesota Department of Health on COVID-19 Testing. He compared this effort to the race to the Moon in the 1960’s.
In his release we learned the following:
Today, Governor Tim Walz, along with representatives of the state’s health care delivery systems, the Mayo Clinic, and the University of Minnesota announced a breakthrough for rapid, widespread testing of COVID-19 in Minnesota.
This new partnership between the health care community and the state of Minnesota plans to launch a statewide testing strategy to test all symptomatic people, isolate confirmed cases, and expand public health contact tracing tools. By building capacity to test as many as 20,000 Minnesotans per day, this increased testing and tracing will help improve control of this pandemic and support the safe re-opening of society.
“When Minnesota faces a challenge, we rise up—together,” Governor Walz said. “I’m proud to partner with Minnesota’s innovative health care systems and leading research institutions to pioneer how states can begin to move forward amid COVID-19.”
The partnership announced today will help ensure that every person in the state with symptoms of COVID-19 gets tested. The partnership will establish capacity to deliver 20,000 molecular and 15,000 serology tests per day.
The expanded testing will include intensive testing of vulnerable populations, including Minnesotans living in congregate settings and those experiencing homelessness; staff that serve vulnerable populations and health care workers; communities of color and American Indian populations; and critical infrastructure workers.