Minnesota Department of Health COVID reporting change

August 1, 2022

As of August 1, 2022, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) began to transition COVID-19 reporting in Pre-K through Grade 12 schools and child care settings to facility-level (aggregate) reporting. This means these settings will no longer need to report individual case information to MDH*; instead, they will be required to report a total number of student/child cases and staff cases at the facility on a routine basis. The purpose of this transition is to shift to more sustainable reporting method while still monitoring disease incidence and disease impact in specific populations (e.g., children).

There are differences in how child care facilities will make reports to MDH based on their licensure, certification, and size:

• Licensed Child Care Centers serving fewer than 40 children & Licensed Family Child Care
  • Report once a week to MDH only when there are cases in your facility or program. If you have no cases, you do not need to report to MDH. Reports should be made using the following survey: COVID-19 Report Form for Licensed Child Care Centers & Licensed Family Child Care (https://redcap-c19.web.health.state.mn.us/redcap/surveys/?s=DJK4AN48FRANDHML)
• Pre-K through Grade 12 Schools, Certified Child Care Centers, and Licensed Child Care Centers serving 40 or more children
  • Reporting surveys will be emailed weekly on Wednesdays beginning the week of August 1, 2022, to child care providers, Authorized Agents, and/or Center Operator contacts (based on current licensing information) for each school or child care.

The MDH COVID-19 Schools & Child Care Team has developed a training video, slide set, and transcript which provide a detailed walkthrough of how to report cases based on your program/facility type which are available on the COVID-19 Schools and Child Care webpage (https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/schools/plan.html). Please review these materials closely before making your first report, and email health.schools.covid19@state.mn.us with questions.

*Please note this change does not apply to the separate CLIA-required laboratory result reporting for facilities who are conducting point-of-care tests onsite. Any facility conducting onsite testing must continue to report positive results to MDH following COVID-19 Test Reporting Requirements (https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/hcp/reportlab.html).