It may not be 2020 anymore, but the COVID-19 pandemic is not over. We still want to help you stay informed about how to keep yourself and others safe through vaccination, testing, and treatment and where you can go if you need help with finances, food, housing, mental health, or other concerns. Twin Cities Geek has partnered with Hallie Q. Brown Community Center and Ramsey County to spread the word about best practices during the pandemic and resources available to Minnesotans.
We’ve compiled this page so you can find all sorts of helpful information and links in one place, and we’ve been updating it periodically to reflect significant developments in testing, vaccination, and treatment. If there’s something you think should be listed here, or if you spot a broken link, let us know.
Twin Cities Geek urges all eligible Minnesotans to get vaccinated (find links below) and take all appropriate safety precautions to protect themselves and the people around them.
This page was created in 2020 and last updated July 11, 2024.
Health and Safety
Minnesota COVID-19 Response: This is the State of Minnesota’s central COVID-19 hub, featuring information current restrictions, staying safe, getting tested, accessing COVID treatments, and more.
COVID-19 Vaccine: The Minnesota Department of Health’s page dedicated to COVID-19 vaccination can answer your questions on how to get vaccinated, when you should get a booster, how the vaccines are made, and how we know they’re safe. There is also a dedicated dashboard that tracks vaccination data for the state.
You can use the Docket app to store your vaccination records and access them from anywhere. And Sheltering Arms Physical Rehabilitation Centers has a helpful guide to some simple exercises to reduce arm soreness after vaccination.
Testing: The state and federal programs that allowed Americans to receive free COVID-19 home tests by mail have ended, but there are still ways to get tested for free. Visit the Minnesota Department of Health’s list of COVID-19 testing sites in Minnesota to find a location near you for on-site testing or pickup of tests to use at home. Anyone who lives in the state can access free testing, whether or not you have symptoms or believe you’ve been exposed to someone with COVID-19, and whether or not you have insurance. The CDC list has a search tool for no-cost testing.
Health insurance companies are no longer required to provide reimbursement for the cost of tests, but some plans still do, and tests are an eligible expense under health savings accounts.
COVID-19 Treatment: The Minnesota Department of Health website gives an overview of the treatments available for COVID-19, who should use them, and how to access them.
COVID-19 Community Coordinators: This Minnesota program, which launched in November 2020, aims to fight the disparities related to race, culture, disability, and other identities when it comes to COVID-19. Coordinators provide community-specific support and information on testing, food support, healthcare, and more.
Project N95: This nonprofit provides access to N95, KN95, and KF94 masks as well as other COVID-related products. Shop the site’s marketplace for authentic high-filtration masks.
Assistance for Minnesotans
Food
- 360 Communities (Apple Valley, Burnsville, Farmington, Lakeville, Rosemount)
- Christian Cupboard Emergency Food Shelf (Oakdale)
- Community Emergency Assistance Programs (Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park)
- East Side Neighborhood Services (Hennepin County)
- Hallie Q. Brown Community Center Food Shelf (Summit-University area, St. Paul)
- ICA Food Shelf (serving Hopkins, Minnetonka, Excelsior, Shorewood, Deephaven, Greenwood, and Woodland)
- Merrick Community Services (Maplewood area)
- Neighbors Inc. (Inver Grove Heights, South St. Paul, West St. Paul, Mendota Heights, Mendota, Sunfish Lake, Lilydale)
- PRISM (Golden Valley, New Hope, Robbinsdale, Crystal, and Plymouth)
- Sabathani Community Center (South Minneapolis)
- Valley Outreach (Stillwater area)
Mental Health
Learning about COVID-19
- Information on COVID-19 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- 5 Things Everybody Should Know about the Coronavirus Outbreak by Kathy Katella, Yale Medicine (January 2023)
- Why You Should Still Wear a Mask and Avoid Crowds after Getting the COVID-19 Vaccine by Joanne Silberner, NPR (January 2021)
- One of Long COVID’s Worst Symptoms Is Also Its Most Misunderstood, an article focusing on “brain fog” by Ed Yong, Atlantic (September 2022)
What You Can Do
From Twin Cities Geek:
- 10 Minnesota Makers for Your Geeky Mask Needs by Madeleine Vasaly
- A Cosplayer’s Quick Guide to Mask Making by Kelly Curses
- Join Minnesota Geeks Helping Disease Research with Folding@Home by Hal Bichel
Metal Health and the Pandemic
- Instead of Social Distancing, Practice “Distant Socializing” Instead, Urges Stanford Psychologist by Melissa De Witte, Stanford University
- You Can Get through This Dark Pandemic Winter Using Tips from Disaster Psychology by Melinda Wenner Moyer, Scientific American
From Twin Cities Geek:
- This Week in Geek: Our weekly column always includes a section with virtual and drive-through events, and when listing in-person events we avoid featuring organizers or venues we believe to be following unsafe practices. This Week in Geek is published every Sunday at noon.
- How to Help Kids Deal with Disappointment during the Pandemic by Rae Black
- How Pokémon GO Helped Me Get through 2020 by Amy Swanberg
Stories from Minnesotans
From Twin Cities Geek (2020):
- The Bearded Company’s MJ Marsh on Theater in the Age of COVID-19 by Ryan Sanderson
- Minnesota Company REM5 Focuses on VR Education during the Pandemic by Zach Alt
- Why Some Minnesota Events Can’t Cancel Despite COVID-19—and What We Can Do about It by Rae Black
- Twin Cities Comic Stores Adapt to Withstand the Pandemic by Zach Alt
In 2021, we hosted a panel of Minnesota theater professionals to talk about staging both in-person and virtual performances that are safe for performers and audiences, the challenges and unexpected discoveries of creating during the pandemic, and how other creators have been inspiring them with their work during these uniquely tough times. Watch the recording below, on YouTube, or on Facebook.
Is there something you think should be listed here? Email us at info@twincitiesgeek.com!