Long lines at community testing sites Monday; MSP site moves to appointment-only for rest of day

Ashley Halbach
[KSTP-TV]

Minnesotans should expect longer-than-usual lines Monday at COVID-19 community testing sites run by the Minnesota Department of Health.

The site at Minneapolis-St. Paul International is so busy that MDH posted around 2 p.m. saying that the site is moving to appointments only for the remainder of the day. The change was at the request of airport staff to help with overcrowding, MDH said.

Additionally, MDH said demand at state-run testing sites is very high Monday and people should expect longer lines than usual. However, they also added that people experiencing mild symptoms who need to get tested should avoid going to a hospital and instead go to a community testing site, pharmacy testing or use an at-home test.

And Vault Health, a testing partner for MDH, said it has now set a limit for at-home saliva tests for all of its customers — including the state of Minnesota — to "preserve tests for Minnesota when demand is surging in other parts of the country."

A list of all the MDH community testing sites across the state is available here.