Coronavirus In Minnesota: What To Expect After You Find A COVID-19 Testing Site Close To You
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The state's new COVID-19 testing webpage will connect you with testing sights close to home -- but what happens once you get there?
RELATED: Gov. Walz Unveils Webpage For Where To Find Testing Sites
"We offer testing at the downtown campus and at several community clinics as well," said Dr. Dan Hoody, Chief Medical Officer at Hennepin Healthcare.
Dr. Hoody says people still need to call ahead and will need to share more medical information before they're approved to come get the relatively simple test.
"It's usually over in a matter of minutes," Dr. Hoody said. You'll get your results the next day."
Labs could get busier now that the state testing criteria is less restrictive. Now, anyone with symptoms can get a test regardless of underlying conditions or living situation.
"We've been fielding a lot of calls there's a lot of pent up demand for access to testing and so we're working pretty hard to rapidly expand and meet that demand," said Heather Dawson Vice President of Allina Health Laboratories.
Right now across eight sights they can collect roughly 200 specimens a day.
"I think our goal would be to get to the point of 1,000 collections a day," Dawson said.
Allina relies on the University of Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic to help process some tests. So results for some patients can take up to five days.
Both Allina and Hennepin Healthcare are running into the same issue with expanding testing.
"We have the capacity for 1,000 tests per day we're running less than that, the main reason for that is we haven't had supplies for specimen collection," Dr. Hoody said.
But both say they're actively working with the state and suppliers to ensure Minnesotans get the tests they need.
"If there's a greater need we can certainly scale that up with investment," Dr. Hoody said.
Hennepin Healthcare says it is now testing everyone admitted to the hospital -- that keeps both patients and health care workers safe.
