MN to Expand COVID-19 Saliva Testing into Statewide Mail-in Program

Minnesota will expand its offering of saliva tests for the coronavirus into a statewide mail-in program that will be available free to all residents.

The state opened a semi-permanent saliva testing site in Duluth three weeks ago that has already conducted about 8,000 tests. It will open others starting Wednesday in Winona, in Moorhead on Oct. 17, and in Brooklyn Park on Oct. 20.

The Minnesota Department of Health plans to add six more later this month – four in the Twin Cities metro area and two in greater Minnesota. But the state also plans to expand that strategy into a statewide program that, when fully implemented, would let any Minnesotan get tested without leaving home.

Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm says the specific saliva test that the state is using is very nearly as accurate as the nasal swab diagnostic tests now in common use, but without the discomfort.