Below is an update on the COVID-19 pandemic as it pertains to Minnesota as of 7:30 PM on 3/31/2020.
Updates from the Governor
Governor Walz today signed two Executive Orders, which extend licenses for first responders and allow the medical cannabis program to continue safely serving Minnesotans during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Executive Order 20-25 extends licenses for peace officers, firefighters, and private security personnel. The Order allows professionals on the front lines combating COVID-19 to maintain their licenses and continue supporting Minnesotans during the peacetime emergency.
Executive Order 20-26 extends enrollment dates that are set to expire over the next several months for current medical cannabis patients; allows any patient to request a temporary caregiver so they are able to send someone to pick up medication on their behalf; and allows medical cannabis patients to practice social distancing with curbside delivery and telephone pharmacist consultations. This order will help keep immunocompromised individuals safe and lessen the burden on busy healthcare providers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a reminder, the Governor’s new website is a great resource for anyone looking for answers related to COVID-19.
Everyone can work to reduce the spread of COVID-19
- Cover your coughs and sneezes with your elbow or sleeve, or a tissue and then throw the tissue in the trash and wash your hands afterwards.
- Washing your hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom or before eating. If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
- Avoid touching your face – especially your eyes, nose and mouth – with unwashed hands.
- Stay home if you have cold- or flu-like symptoms, for seven days after your illness onset or three days after your fever resolves without fever reducing medicine, and avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Up-to-date guidance from the Department of Health on recommended community mitigation strategies can be found here.
Resources
- CDC Situation Updates
- mn.gov/stayhomemn
- Apply for Unemployment Insurance
- Minnesota Department of Health Updates
- About COVID-19
Coverage
- Antibody testing would help Minnesotans find out if their illness was COVID-19
- Coronavirus In Minnesota: Health Experts Warn Against Using Non-Pharmaceutical Treatments
- Minnesota’s tribal nations prepare for COVID-19
- Minnesota plans 2,750 new hospital beds for ‘alternate care sites’ in COVID-19 crisis
- ‘I’m just trying to keep an open mind’: What the first day of distance learning looked like in Minnesota