Minnesota is offering one last chance to order free at-home COVID-19 tests that can be used to determine if someone was infected by the coronavirus and to qualify for antiviral treatment.
Minnesota offers last chance access to free COVID-19 tests
COVID-19 levels remain low in Minnesota, but coronavirus variants present concern and need for testing access.
January 10, 2023 at 9:02PM
Four rapid COVID-19 tests per household are available under the state program, which has already delivered 2.5 million tests over the course of the three-year-long pandemic.
"Testing is essential in getting the proper treatment to those who need it and preventing the spread of COVID-19," said Dr. Brooke Cunningham, state health commissioner.
Ordering can be done online at mn.gov/covid19 or by calling 1-833-431-2053.
The offer comes amid some optimistic signs in the course of the pandemic. Sewage sampling at the Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant in St. Paul found a 22% decline in viral material when comparing the week ending Jan. 2 with the prior week.
While viral loads remain elevated compared to last fall, they have not surged despite holiday gatherings that typically hasten the spread of germs.
Minnesota hospitals are reporting around 550 of their inpatient beds are filled with COVID-19 cases each day. That also is an increase from the fall but is below the peak of 1,629 COVID-19 hospitalizations that Minnesota encountered Jan. 14, 2022.
Coronavirus variants remain a concern, though, because they can increase the odds of infections in people with prior COVID-19 cases or vaccinations. A concerning XBB variant made up 15% of the viral material found in metro wastewater last week — up from 8% the prior week.
Free COVID-19 testing options are declining in Minnesota, which shut down community testing sites in Mankato and St. Cloud last week and will shut down a site in Moorhead on Thursday.
Test-to-treat options remain available at sites in the Twin Cities and Duluth, where positive COVID-19 results qualify patients for immediate antiviral therapies. Minnesotans also can qualify for antiviral treatment with at-home tests through a new state program with Cue Health.
The governor said it may be 2027 or 2028 by the time the market catches up to demand.
