Health Officials Announce Next Batch Of Cities To Have Free COVID-19 Testing Next Week
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Minnesota Department of Health announced Friday the next cities to get free COVID-19 testing sites next week as part of the four-week push to track how the virus is spreading in the state.
During the week of Sept. 28, the "no barrier" testing will be offered in Bemidji, Bloomington, Maplewood, Marshall, Moorhead, and Thief River Falls.
The testing will be available regardless if someone is showing symptoms or not. No insurance or identification is needed. However, to avoid long lines, officials are urging people to sign up for a specific testing time slot.
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Last week, the free testing was offered in Grand Rapids, Pine City and Waseca. Health Commission Jan Malcolm says that more than 2,600 people were tested during the first week of the testing push.
Health officials say this four-week initiative is being used to identify workplace clusters, understand how the virus is traveling in border cities, and to more evenly distribute testing resources across the state. According to Malcolm, increased testing will help more infected people self-isolate and thereby slow the spread.
