FARGO— Because of the popularity of the Moorhead saliva testing site, health officials say they may start offering at-home saliva testing kits.
More than 3,500 were tested at the saliva testing site in the past week with a 22% positivity rate. During the last week in October more than 2,800 were tested, and more than 1700 were tested during the second to last week in October.
Clay County health officials said the test is 98% effective for testing for Covid-19, just as effective as the nose swab. Both tests go to the same lab.
The Clay County Director of Nursing, Jamie Hennen, said people seem to be more comfortable with it than the nasal swab due to how simple it is.
"The saliva testing is simple, you can do it yourself. You just follow the directions on the kit and it seems pretty harmless to do that. " Hennen said.
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Governor Tim Walz did not specify when the 'at-home saliva' tests would be available statewide, but more than 20 Minnesota counties are currently piloting the program.
