Hundreds turn out for free COVID-19 tests as Minnesota health officials reach more diverse group

Kenneth Joyner tilted his head back as instructed and winced as a health care worker twisted the long nasal swab up one of his nostrils and then the other.

"One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. That's enough," the COVID-19 screener announced behind a mask and face shield. With that, Joyner walked off with the paperwork he needed to return to his manufacturing job after being laid off in March. It also was enough to satisfy his children, who urged the 66-year-old to be tested.

Joyner was among hundreds who turned out Friday for free COVID-19 testing outside the New Salem Missionary Baptist Church in north Minneapolis. The free screening was one of dozens that have been held this summer in partnership with state health officials as well as others held by local clinics and public health departments with the intent of making tests more accessible to racially diverse communities.

COVID-19, a highly infectious and deadly disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has hit minority communities especially hard.

Black people make up 7% of Minnesota's population but account for 25% of the COVID-19 hospitalizations, according to a recent University of Minnesota study. Likewise, Hispanics make up 6% of the state's population but account for 16% of the hospitalizations.

Those disparities have brought state health officials and local community leaders together to address the issue.

"Our community is skeptical of government and health care," said the Rev. Alfred Babington-Johnson, head of Stairstep Foundation, a statewide organization dedicated to working on issues that affect the African American community. Having community organizations and neighborhood churches host COVID-19 events bridges the credibility gap, he said.

Friday's event was the seventh held at New Salem, according church Pastor Jerry McAfee. "The numbers of cases in our community are high," he said. "It's incumbent on us to get people tested."

By noon, some of the 400 people who registered for the test along with others who signed up on the spot began to wind their way along the chalked sidewalk that directed them through the pop-up screening site.

"I hope we can do 100 an hour," said Rachel Miller, a paramedic with M Health Fairview who joined others in her organization to administer the tests. "It's really important as kids are going back to school, people are going back to work and for those who've gone to large gatherings."

An enthusiastic Adriane Green, wearing a fluorescent green safety vest and waving a "COVID-19 testing site" sign, stood along 26th Av. North trying to drum up business.

"You need a COVID test," she shouted to those who drove by.

Not even the drumbeats coming from a marching band and drill team practicing across the street at the Lucy Craft Laney Community School could drown out Green.

The tests are important not just for an individual's well-being but to stem the spread from asymptomatic people, she said.

The coronavirus is hindering life as it once was — everything from going to church, meeting friends for dinner at a restaurant and traveling to see family, Green said.

"I would love for everything to go back to normal," she said.

For now, people like Travis Smith, 45, and Mary Perkins, 57, both of Minneapolis, are navigating their world with caution.

Perkins didn't feel ill but wanted to make sure she isn't asymptomatic and a risk to herself and others.

"I want to be safe," she said.

Smith waited his turn because he recently came in contact with someone who tested positive for the virus.

"This is real accessible. I wouldn't be here otherwise," he said. "COVID makes me nervous. We're just not sure what we're dealing with and we can't seem to get control of it. It's just crazy."

Mary Lynn Smith • 612-673-4788