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How Minnesota Encouraged Every Resident to Get Tested for Covid-19
‘For much of this year, if not longer, testing will be essential’
Vaccine distribution is underway, but states and cities across the nation will have to remain vigilant about testing its residents on a daily basis to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus during the cold winter months. According to the Harvard Global Health Institute, states like Minnesota will have to process 17,500 tests each day to slow the spread and 63,500 daily tests to fully suppress the virus. To reach these numbers, the state has organized an ambitious yet effective pandemic task force, drawing expertise from its renowned public health systems as well as forging partnerships with health tech startups that have a strong consumer focus. As Bloomberg Businessweek reports:
“Minnesota isn’t the biggest state or the wealthiest. But it has a progressive governor, a budget surplus that’s allowed it to supplement federal funding and spend about $150 million on testing so far, and a well-functioning pandemic task force. It’s home to the Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota, one of the nation’s best public research institutions. All those advantages may explain why it’s one of the few states to implement a testing strategy that the federal government should have adopted, one that helped Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan avoid the worst of the pandemic’s ruin, and that doesn’t require dramatic scientific advances or carry any potential health risks.”
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