Jan 10, 2022 - COVID

Why Minnesota isn't tracking at-home rapid test results

Torey Van Oot

box of covid rapid test — Photo: Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Minnesotans who test positive for COVID-19 via an at-home rapid test are not expected to share their results with local health officials — and there there's no where to report the case even if they tried.

The big picture: As America's record Omicron surge continues, cities and states across the country have no cohesive strategy to monitor the results of at-home rapid COVID tests, an Axios Local report found.

Why it matters: Our patchwork public ability to tally at-home tests means that the current COVID caseload is almost certainly a vast undercount — and that may be a reality we all have to accept at this stage of the pandemic.

What they're saying: MDH spokesperson Doug Schultz told Axios that the state doesn't collect or track at-home tests because "we do not have a good way to verify the results."

Staffing and creating a system to receive so many updates would also be a challenge, he added.
"We may not be able to count every case, but people will continue to get laboratory-run testing, so our data will still provide a picture of what is happening in the state," he said.

Be smart: If you test positive via a home test, MDH says you should assume you do have COVID, whether or not you seek confirmation via PCR.

MDH recommends that you stay home and away from others. Current CDC guidance is to isolate for five days if you are asymptomatic and wear a mask in public for five more after that.
While the state won't pursue contact tracing, you should inform anyone you've been in close contact with of your positive result.

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Why Minnesota isn't tracking at-home rapid test results

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