Saliva testing site to open at Minneapolis Convention Center next week

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) announced Thursday that the state will open another saliva testing site Monday at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

According to MDH, it will be the eighth site in the state and will offer free saliva tests to those who believe they need to be tested for COVID-19.

Testing will be available seven days a week, from noon to 7 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends. Appointments can be made in advance via this registration site.

Those seeking a test should enter the center at the west side of the building, off of First Avenue, then go to exhibit room E. Free parking for those getting tested will be available and marked.

Results will be provided via email and can be expected within 24 to 48 hours.

After the state opened its first saliva testing site in Duluth in September, testing locations have opened in Winona, Moorhead, Brooklyn Park, Mankato, St. Cloud, St. Paul and now in Minneapolis. State health officials said they plan to open at least two more testing locations in the Twin Cities in the coming weeks.

State health leaders said these testing sites are part of a statewide strategy to help manage rising COVID-19 cases.

“What’s happening in Minnesota right now is alarming,” MDH Commissioner Jan Malcolm said in a statement. “We are seeing record numbers of new cases every few days. And it’s because we’re falling behind the rapid spread of this virus. This is truly a statewide outbreak, and we encourage anyone who believes they may have been exposed to COVID-19 to visit one of these no-barrier testing sites.

"Testing is a key part of our strategy, and we’ve made great progress in removing obstacles to testing thanks to strong partnerships across the state. When combined with social distancing, masking, avoiding crowds and staying home when sick, testing helps us slow the spread of COVID-19 and move us closer to the day when we have safe and effective vaccines.”

Lines formed outside of the Brooklyn Park saliva testing site on Thursday. In the roughly two weeks since it opened, more than 18,000 people have passed through for a test, according to MDH.

The Department of Health told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that it’s the busiest of their seven locations currently open.

“I thought I better come in and get tested,” said Tom Wever of Maple Grove. “It’s really simple, you just go in and they kind of guide you through the whole thing, they go through step by step. You spit into a tube for a while, mix it up, drop it off and you’re done.”

He told us he was directly exposed to the virus at work and started experiencing symptoms.

“There were a lot of appointments taken, so it was hard to get in, yeah, surprising for sure,” Wever said.

According to MDH, nearly 1,700 people have been tested at the Brooklyn Park location daily for the past few days. The site saw a record of nearly 2,200 people on Thursday, according to Vault Health which is running the sites in collaboration with MDH.

“There was a lot of people in there, more than I expected,” said James Larsen of Minneapolis.

He didn’t have an appointment on Thursday and waited in line.

“I wouldn’t say it’s more than two or three minutes,” said Larsen. “It’s been hard to make appointments at a few other places … I was trying at different pharmacies, trying to get testing, drive-through testing and things like that. I had a few problems trying to get one for a week or so.”

Larsen said his roommates were exposed to other friends who were positive for COVID-19. He is unable to return to his restaurant job until he gets a test.

The saliva test took about 15 to 20 minutes, according to Larsen.

“It went by pretty quick,” he said.

The Department of Health told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that there’s been an unexpected number of walk-ups at the site at the time it opens each day, which has contributed to the lines. MDH encourages those who do not have an appointment to avoid seeking a test during the first hour or two the location is open.

The sites in Duluth, Moorhead and Mankato are also seeing an increase in demand.

Last week, there were more than 3,400 tests completed in Duluth, an increase of 1,200 from the week before. There were 2,875 tests at the Moorhead location last week, which was an increase of 1,150 from the prior week.

Mankato saw an increase of 500 cases week to week, reaching nearly 1,500 tests last week.

In St. Cloud, 2,500 people were tested last week. The new St. Paul site saw nearly 5,000 people tested in just five days.

“I think it’s a great thing to have more [sites], I don’t think you can have too many honestly,” Larsen said.

The Department of Health has tested a total of more than 50,000 people at the seven sites. There were nearly 7,000 positive results, according to MDH. The specimens are all being processed at the Oakdale lab, which Vault Health said is not close to capacity at this point.

According to Vault Health, it takes 24 to 48 hours to get test results.

“It’s just a piece of mind kind of thing,” Wever said. “You can go about your life, let people know and that way everybody is in the know and have the best the best information and they can make their decisions appropriately.”

Meanwhile, the same saliva test being used at testing locations was also made available to 23 counties and the Red Lake Nation through the COVID-19 Test at Home Program. State health leaders say this service will soon be available to all Minnesotans statewide.

Learn more about the saliva testing site in Minneapolis here.

KSTP’s complete COVID-19 coverage