Wadena has new COVID-19 testing site: Mail order program now available statewide
In order to expand access to free, “no barrier” COVID-19 testing, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has announced 11 new longer-term COVID-19 testing sites will open across Minnesota in the coming weeks. One of the testing sites will be at National Guard Armory in Wadena.
In addition to the new testing sites, the COVID-19 Test at Home program is now available to all Minnesotans across the state.
All of the new testing sites, as well as the mail-order program, offer COVID-19 testing to any Minnesotan who wants to be tested, whether they have symptoms or not, and does not require insurance. Some sites will offer nasal swab testing, others will offer saliva testing. They will stay in operation until at least the end of the year to provide sustained testing capacity across the state.
The sites at National Guard armories will be staffed by a combination of local public health staff and members of the Minnesota National Guard. Nearly 100 members of the National Guard are being deployed to provide support with logistics, registration, check-in and check out, supply management and transportation. These sites will replace the “pop-up” style of community testing events, which for the past several months would arrive in a community for 2-3 days of testing.
Through the COVID-19 Test at Home program, any person in Minnesota can order a saliva test to be delivered to their home with expedited shipping. The test is then sent to the new lab in Oakdale, Minnesota, for processing.
Find more information about the COVID-19 Test at Home program and find the link to order a test at COVID-19 Test at Home.
The Wadena National Guard Armory is located at 517 Jefferson St. N. and will be open as of November 18.