How expanded testing would work in Minnesota

Gov. Tim Walz coined the phrase “Minnesota moonshot” to refer to his goal for COVID-19 testing in the coming weeks.

It’s a “moonshot” because the level of testing he says is necessary is hard to imagine in current conditions.

Over the past six weeks, Minnesota labs have run more than 39,000 total tests statewide. Before the state begins returning to normal, Walz said he was aiming for some 5,000 tests per day or 40,000 a week.

Professor Rebecca Wurtz of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health spoke with MPR News host Cathy Wurzer about some of the logistics of how this expanded testing might work. Wurtz is helping advise the Minnesota Department of Health on its testing plan.