Walz Tours Oakdale COVID-19 Saliva Testing Lab Capable Of Processing 30,000 Samples Daily

From the Minnesota Reformer:

By Ricardo Lopez

October 20, 2020

Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday toured a new COVID-19 saliva testing lab in Oakdale, paid for with $14.6 million in federal CARES Act funding to help the state in its efforts to combat the pandemic.

The COVID saliva lab will be able to process up to 30,000 samples a day when operating at full capacity, and will employ up to 250 workers, according to the governor’s office.

“Testing is a key component of our strategy to protect Minnesotans from COVID-19,” Walz said in a statement. “Our saliva testing partnership has already helped bring testing access to Minnesotans across the state, and this new lab will better prepare us to track, understand, and fight the virus in our communities.”

The Minnesota saliva testing program involves the creation of up to 10 semi-permanent testing sites across Minnesota, as well as a mail order program which will launch a pilot later this month. The state has erected semi-permanent testing sites in Duluth, Winona, Moorhead and Brooklyn Park.

The Oakdale lab will ensure quicker turnaround of results because samples will be couriered in state rather than being shipped to New Jersey, where IBX, the developer of the saliva test, is based.

IBX, formerly Rutgers RUCDR Infinite Biologics, received the first FDA emergency use approval for its saliva test in April, which is touted as a less invasive way to diagnose COVID-19.

The Minnesota Reformer is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to keeping Minnesotans informed and unearthing stories other outlets can’t or won’t tell..