The state Department of Health wants to know more about the prevalence of the COVID-19 in Minnesota and some randomly chosen residents will be able to help — and get a free coronavirus test.
Health officials began a voluntary statewide survey Monday, with the help of the federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, that will run through the end of September. Households are being asked at random in 180 sites statewide to submit to an interview and testing.
The so-called Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response, or CASPER, survey will help health officials better understand how the coronavirus has spread and why, the rate of infection in different regions and the percentage of asymptomatic infections.
“With a new virus, we have to learn as we go and adapt our response based on new data. Information we gather in this survey will allow us to refine our recommendations to best meet the needs of our Minnesota communities in the prevention of COVID-19,” Dr. Ruth Lynfield, state epidemiologist, said in a statement announcing the survey effort.
If a household agrees to participate, one member will complete a questionnaire and all members who consent will be given diagnostic and antibody tests.
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Diagnostic tests use a swab sample from the back of the throat or nasal cavity to search for evidence of active virus. Antibody tests use blood from a pricked finger to detect evidence of a previous infection when the immune system fought off the disease.
Participants with positive tests will be contacted by a nurse to collect further information. All results of the testing and the survey will be kept private.
Health officials used U.S. Census data to select areas and households to participate in the survey. While households were picked at random, regions where selected based on a number of factors including population size.
Teams conducting the survey will be wearing protective gear and have credentials identifying them as part of the survey.
Only households randomly picked for the study can participate and health officials urged those who are chosen to take part in the survey.
“Along with being able to receive free, in-home testing for current and past COVID-19 infection, this is a unique opportunity for people to help us learn more about the impacts of COVID-19 and aid in our efforts to fight this pandemic.” said Lynfield.
The Minnesota Department of Health reported 432 new coronavirus infections and five more deaths Tuesday. The total number of cases is now at 85,351, since the pandemic began, and most of those patients, 78,953 people, have recovered enough they no longer need to be isolated.
There have been 1,927 deaths attributed to COVID-19 with another 52 suspected to have been caused by the virus, but the patient never had a positive coronavirus test.
As of Monday afternoon, 238 patients were hospitalized with 131 in critical condition. There are an estimated 4,322 patients with active cases recovering at home.
Minnesota has now screened 1.7 million samples from nearly 1.25 million patients since local testing began in March. The state’s cumulative test positivity rate is about 5 percent.