Coronavirus cases continue to rise in Minnesota

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) says seven Minnesotans tested positive for the virus on Friday, which brings the total positive case count to 21, with nearly 900 patients tested.

On Friday, MDH announced a series of community-level strategies aimed at helping slow the spread of novel coronavirus in Minnesota.

The strategies include:

• Event organizers cancelling or postponing gatherings with 250 or more people, including concerts, conferences, professional and amateur performances or sporting events.
• Event organizers cancelling or postponing smaller events (those with less than 250 people) that are held in settings that do not allow social distancing of 6 feet per person.
• Event organizers limiting attendance to no more than 10 people for events where the majority of participants are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
• People and families at higher risk of severe COVID-19 illness staying at home and avoiding gatherings or other situations of potential exposures, including travel.
• Employers making telework arrangements for workers whose duties can be done remotely.
• Employers staggering work schedules and limiting non-essential work travel.
• Health care facilities and assisted-living facilities more strictly limiting visitors.
• Faith-based organizations offering video or audio events.
• Hospitals and other health care facilities implementing triage before entering facilities (for example, parking lot triage, phone triage, and telemedicine to limit unnecessary visits).

The broad set of recommendations will remain in place until further notice.

Yesterday, Governor Tim Walz issued Executive Order 20-01 declaring a peacetime emergency in Minnesota and unveiled legislative proposals to prepare for the COVID-19 pandemic. These actions came in conjunction with the Minnesota Department of Health announcing new community mitigation strategies to limit the spread of the virus.