Minnesota COVID-19 testing is restricted amid supply shortage
Minnesota’s public health lab is restricting criteria for COVID-19 testing following a surge of activity that taxed its supply of kits and chemical reagents needed to confirm the presence of the coronavirus that causes the illness.
Testing by the state’s public health lab is now being reserved largely for hospitalized patients, health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities, the Minnesota Department of Health announced Tuesday.
“We need to be focusing on testing those individuals for whom the positive results will make a significant difference either in their care or for our health care system,” said Kris Ehresmann, state infectious disease director.
The state as of Tuesday had conducted more than 2,300 tests and identified 60 cases of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus that first emerged in Wuhan, China, in December. Three cases so far have involved people whose infections couldn’t be traced back to recent travel or to other sick people, meaning that the virus is now spreading from person to person in Minnesota.
The state has responded with unprecedented restrictions to limit exposure to the virus, including the closure of dine-in restaurants, bars, theaters, fitness clubs and other gathering spaces, and the shutdown of K-12 schools that will start Wednesday and last at least until March 27.
http://www.startribune.com/minnesota-s-covid-19-case-count-now-60/568864222/