[ST. PAUL, MN] – Today, Governor Tim Walz announced a comprehensive COVID-19 action plan to relieve Minnesota’s increasingly crowded hospitals and provide new rapid testing opportunities for Minnesota families.

With caseloads rising and hospitals filling with COVID-19 patients, Governor Walz is taking immediate action to free up capacity at Minnesota’s long-term care facilities, in order to relieve hospital capacity. Hospital administrators report that many of their beds are occupied by Minnesotans who should be treated at long-term care facilities, but cannot due to staffing and bed shortages. Today the Governor is:

• Putting the National Guard on alert to provide staffing support at Minnesota’s long-term care facilities;
• Expanding access to the COVID-19 Emergency Staffing Pool, which allows long-term care facilities to request short-term emergency temporary staffing if they’re experiencing a staffing shortage due to an outbreak of COVID-19 at their facility; and
• Directing the Department of Human Services to free up capacity at state long-term care facilities.

“Rising COVID-19 cases have left our hospitals too crowded, and we need action now,” said Governor Walz. “That’s why I’m putting the National Guard on alert and taking critical steps to help free up hospital beds and make sure that Minnesotans can continue to get the care they need.”

“For more than a year and a half, our doctors and nurses have served on the front lines of this pandemic, providing essential care and support to Minnesotans suffering from COVID-19 and their families,” said Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan. “As we confront another surge of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, our medical personnel need our help, and our administration stands ready to provide it.”

Governor Walz will announce the new measures during a visit to North Memorial Health Hospital in Robbinsdale on Friday.

“We are proud of our continued partnership with Governor Walz and the Minnesota Department of Health and are thankful the Administration is doing what it can to address hospital capacity concerns,” said Dr. Kevin Croston, CEO, North Memorial Health. “This surge of COVID-19 hospitalizations has been overwhelming our Transitional Care Units, causing significant backups—we are hopeful that today’s announcement will provide much-needed relief.”

“More than 18 months into the pandemic, our statewide health system is undergoing another intense stress test. Many of our hospitals are seeing a sharp rise in patients requiring hospital-level care – from emergency departments to intensive care units. Minnesota’s hospitals and health systems are working together 24/7 to meet this challenge, coordinate resources and provide the highest possible level of care to Minnesotans statewide. We appreciate the ongoing public-private partnership in Minnesota, with our elected officials and state agencies, as we all focus together on improving the health of each and every Minnesotan,” said Dr. Rahul Koranne, President and CEO of the Minnesota Hospital Association. “ Our health care staff are true heroes, and we need Minnesotans to partner with us to halt the spread of this virus. The mitigation measures are familiar, but still as important today as they were many months ago –get vaccinated, get your booster when eligible, wear a mask, social distance, and stay home when you are sick. Our hospitals and health systems need you to act.”

Expanding rapid testing options for more Minnesotans

Governor Walz is also announcing steps to expand rapid COVID-19 testing opportunities to help Minnesotans find free, accessible, and quick testing resources in their communities.

First, the Governor is activating the National Guard to help stand up a new Community Rapid Testing Program, launching free rapid testing next week at community sites in Stillwater, Hutchinson, and Crookston, and at least three additional sites the following week. These sites will allow Minnesotans experiencing COVID-19 symptoms to take an antigen test and receive results in a matter of minutes.

The administration will also offer rapid tests at the some of the existing Community Testing Program locations around Minnesota. Additional details about the new rapid testing options will be available early next week.

“Minnesotans are working hard to navigate daycare, school, and work — and they need the reassurance and ease of rapid testing to keep their lives on track, ” said Governor Walz. “To help Minnesotans get the speedy test results they need, we are taking action to expand our free and successful community testing network with rapid testing sites.”

“With school in full swing and more activities moving inside due to colder weather, testing remains vital to protecting our children and families from COVID-19,” said Minnesota Commissioner of Health Jan Malcolm. “By launching this community rapid testing program, we have further expanded our robust, collaborative testing network to provide even more free opportunities for families across the state. In addition to getting vaccinated, masking indoors, and staying home when sick, we know testing can help us slow the spread of the COVID-19 and limit its negative impacts in our communities.”

Second, Governor Walz announced additional COVID-19 rapid testing opportunities in partnership with local public health (LPH) agencies around the state. Sixteen local public health agencies across the state are deploying rapid tests provided by the Minnesota Department of Health, some of which will be used at community testing clinics, while others will be used for targeted testing efforts. Participating agencies will announce their testing plans and appointments processes.

“Testing for COVID-19 helps keep our kids safe in the classroom and workers protected on the job,” said Lieutenant Governor Flanagan. “Our local public health professionals are experts at meeting their communities where they are, and that’s why we have partnered with agencies across Minnesota to get more rapid tests to Minnesotans who need them.”

“As our local communities experience a surge of cases, we are working very closely with our local health care providers to fill gaps and ensure our communities have access to COVID-19 testing and vaccinations,” said Chera Sevcik, Executive Director & Community Health Services Administrator at Human Services of Faribault & Martin Counties. “Our ability to provide testing each week helps free up crucial resources with our local health care providers so they can focus their efforts on treating patients.”

The Walz-Flanagan administration has steadily expanded testing capacity throughout Minnesota to meet increasing demand for COVID-19 tests.

To tackle the Delta variant, the state has opened new community sites in Bloomington, Lino Lakes, Minneapolis, Saint Paul, and Morris since August. The state has added weekend testing and doubled capacity at the Duluth community testing site. Additionally, the state added Friday testing at the state sites in Mankato and St. Cloud, and Sunday testing at the Moorhead and Winona sites.

The state continues to assess current and projected testing needs and will continue to execute its comprehensive approach to ensure every Minnesotan has access to free testing to keep their families and communities safe.

State guidance on who should get tested can be found on the COVID-19 Testing webpage.

Governor Walz: Legislature needs to assist in COVID-19 response

Governor Walz’s actions to help hospitals and expand rapid testing services come after he urged the Minnesota Legislature last week to take immediate action to help curb the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re taking decisive action to help our hospitals weather another intense COVID-19 surge, and we’re strategically expanding rapid testing access across the state to ensure more Minnesota families have access to these important resources. My administration continues to do what we can to help battle COVID-19 – but we cannot do this alone,” said Governor Walz. “We need the Legislature to step up and be an equal partner in our response to this surging virus. I urge them to move quickly to support our hospitals, nursing homes, schools and child care facilities. We need to respond to this COVID-19 wave together.”

How Minnesotans can get a free COVID-19 test:

• Order a test through the state’s no-cost at-home COVID-19 testing program .
• Find a testing option, including through local providers, pharmacies and clinics, near you through the state’s Find Testing Locations map
• Walk-in or schedule an appointment for a test at one of the state’s no-cost community testing sites across Minnesota.

How Minnesotans can get their free shot:

• Walk in or make an appointment through the Vaccine Connector.
  • Minnesota Department of Health COVID-19 Public Hotline
    • 1-833-431-2053
    • Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-7 p.m. and Sat., 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
• Use the state’s Vaccine Locator Map to find a vaccine provider near you.
• Check for vaccine appointments using the Vaccine Finder . You can search for appointments by vaccine type (e.g., Pfizer).
• Contact your primary health care provider or a local pharmacy.
• Employers may also reach out with information about vaccination opportunities.