MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) The Minnesota Department of Health said that it will be closing COVID-19 community testing sites in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Bloomington by the end of the week due to declining demand.<\/p>\n
The site in St. Paul will close on Thursday, while Bloomington and Minneapolis locations will close on Friday.<\/p>\n
MDH says the sites are closing because more and more people are vaccinated and fewer people are seeking COVID-19 tests.<\/p>\n
By mid-June, labs across the state were processing roughly 10,000 tests a day, down significantly compared to the height of the fall surge of the pandemic, when 50,000 to 60,000 tests were administered daily.<\/p>\n
We are making great progress toward ending the pandemic and this is another sign of that as we focus on distributing vaccines and making progress getting 70% of the Minnesota population vaccinated, said Jesse Stock with MDH.<\/p>\n
Trickling in every few minutes, people visited the Minneapolis Convention Center to get a COVID-19 test Wednesday, offering their saliva samples with ease. <\/p>\n
Pretty quick and efficient, Shana Johnson of Minneapolis said.<\/p>\n
The simplicity and familiarity of the process helped keep the Minnesota Department of Healths community testing sites busy from last fall through this spring.<\/p>\n
This is my third or fourth time down here, Ron Latz of St. Louis Park said. Early on there were lines to get in. They really encouraged making appointments.<\/p>\n
Recently, the tests were moved to a smaller room at the Convention Center, and it started closing on weekends.<\/p>\n
By this Saturday itll close for good, along with testing at Creekside Community Center in Bloomington and Roy Wilkins Arena in St. Paul.<\/p>\n
MDH says progress with vaccinations, a drop in COVID cases and fewer people needing these facilities led to the decision.<\/p>\n
Im happy. Im happy things are getting back to normal, Johnson said. Things are opening back up. We can come outside.<\/p>\n
But I am worried about the Delta variant and whether we need to continue sort of a regular testing regimen to make sure that that is not taking hold of Minnesota, Latz said.<\/p>\n
Minnesotans are still able to walk in and get a free COVID-19 test at Walgreens or CVS locations.<\/p>\n
If you still need to access a COVID-19 test, there are available sites across the state. Click here for more information.<\/p>\n
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\nCOVID Community Test Sites In Mpls., St. Paul, Bloomington To Close By End Of The Week - CBS Minnesota<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"