Minnesota Department of Health Opens Saliva Testing Site in Brooklyn Park
The Minnesota Department of Health is opening the metro-area’s first saliva testing site for COVID-19 on Tuesday in Brooklyn Park. It’s located in the former Office Max building at the Starlite Center shopping area.
City leaders hope the semi-permanent facility will even the playing field for underserved communities who have been hit hard by the novel coronavirus. Brooklyn Park has one of the highest positive COVID-19 case rates in the metro.
“We’re really glad to have this site here because it gives us a chance to rally our residents and people around here to get free testing,” said Susan Pha, a Brooklyn Park Council member.
State and city leaders want to get more testing done across different cultural backgrounds.
“We know that people of color are more impacted by COVID,” said Daniel Huff, assistant commissioner at the Minnesota Department of Health. “We definitely want to reach communities and be where people are that are going to be heavily impacted.”
Health officials say the accuracy of the saliva test is similar to the nasal swab. The saliva test is also more comfortable than the nasal swab and easy to use. People spit into a funnel attached to a tube, and once you hit the fill line, you seal it up and hand the test over to the health care provider.
The saliva test is free and available to all Minnesotans who want to get tested.
People can register online or show up the day of to get a test. It will take 48 to 72 hours to get results back.
MDH officials say saliva test is just as accurate as nasal swab.
