Community spread prompts testing event this week in Thief River Falls
Mar. 8—THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minn. — A coronavirus testing event planned this week in Thief River Falls comes as community spread continues to be an issue in Pennington County.
The county had 54 active cases Monday, March 8, said Kayla Jore, Inter-County Nursing Service director. While that number has dropped about 50% from about a month ago, the spread of COVID-19 remains a concern.
The event, planned for Tuesday, March 9, through Thursday, March 11, was announced over the weekend by the Minnesota Department of Health, which called Thief River Falls the center of a "COVID hotspot." Testing, to be conducted at the armory, will be from noon to 6 p.m. each day. The state of Minnesota, Minnesota National Guard, Inter-County Nursing Service in Thief River Falls and Vault Health are coordinating the testing.
The county's cases appear to be the result of community spread, rather than isolated events, Jore said. The county is seeing a "bit of an improvement in new cases," which have fallen from 20 to 30 a day in mid-February to five to 10 per day in early March, Jore said.
Still, there's concern about the virus' effect on the community. For example, the spread of COVID-19 has impacted schools, which have seen more cases recently than they did last fall, she said. As a result, middle and high school students have continued hybrid learning rather than returning to full-time in-school learning in January, like many other Minnesota schools.
Meanwhile, the number of people in Pennington County who have been hospitalized with COVID-19 has increased during the past month, although health care facilities have not been overwhelmed by the cases, Jore said.
"The spread in our community is affecting all areas of our lives, and we need to get a handle on this situation and slow the spread down," she said.
The Minnesota Department of Health still is concerned about Pennington County's active case rate, which is more than five times the state average and six times more than Hennepin County's, said Dan Huff, Minnesota Department of Health assistant commissioner for health protection.
"Right now, Thief River Falls is the center of this COVID-19 hotspot, which is spreading to neighboring counties," Huff said in a Minnesota Department of Health news release.
People who believe they may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 are encouraged to be tested. Testing — when combined with social distancing, masking, avoiding crowds and staying home when sick — can help slow the spread of COVID-19, said Jan Malcom, Minnesota commissioner of health.
"Testing is a key component of our strategy to protect Minnesota from COVID-19," Malcom said. "Through a robust, collaborative statewide testing program, we have made great progress in removing obstacles to testing."
Appointments are strongly encouraged, but not required for this week's testing in Thief River Falls. Tests can be scheduled online through Vault Health.
There is no cost for the testing. People will be asked for their insurance cards, and if they have them, the state of Minnesota will bill their companies. If people are uninsured or if insurance doesn't cover some of the testing costs, the state will cover the difference, so the testing will remain free to them.
People who are going to be tested should avoid eating, drinking, chewing or smoking 30 minutes before the test. Testing will be self-administered by salivating into a funnel attached to a small tube. Clinic staff will be available on-site to monitor collections.
Tests will be processed at the Minnesota saliva lab in Oakdale, run by Vault Health and Infinity Biologixs. People who get tested will be notified of their results by email in 48 to 72 hours.
