Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves announced a $100,000 donation to the Mayo Clinic to help the hospital's response to COVID-19.

Towns, who put the announcement out on Twitter Sunday, wanted to contribute to the local hospital's response and continue to help their testing capabilities.

According to the Timberwolves team website, the Mayo Clinic expects this donation to increase testing capacity from 200 per day to over 1,000 per day.

“Our team has been working around the clock for the past month to develop a test for COVID-19,” says Dr. William Morice II, chair of the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic. “We are blown away by Karl’s gesture to help us fast-track offering testing to more patients across Minnesota and the nation.”

 

"Mayo expects this donation to help increase testing capacity from 200 per day to over 1,000 tests per day in the coming weeks. For those who are interested in being a part of making COVID-19 testing capabilities possible and increasing availability, as well as supporting Mayo Clinic’s overall COVID-19 response, please visit mayoclinic.org."

The donation comes after Minnesota Governor Tim Walz order Minnesota schools to close to students starting on March 18th, for administration and teachers to make long term plans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Olmsted County Public Health announced Sunday that a second person from the Rochester area has tested positive for COVID-19. Olmsted County Public Health also says the person has a known history of travel to a high-risk area and did not require hospitalization. The individual is isolating at home and recovering.

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