Dear Neighbors,
Here are some of the most recent developments related to COVID-19. A lot of important work is being done to see us through these uncertain times. Minnesota is continuing to be a leader in response to this pandemic.
Governor Walz issues more executive orders
Yesterday morning the governor issued three additional executive orders addressing the Covid-19 outbreak. Today, Governor Walz has issued Executive Order 20-03, Executive Order 20-06, and Executive 20-07 to further strengthen Minnesota’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The executive orders protect residents of Veterans Homes; exempt vehicles and drivers from certain regulations to ensure efficient emergency supply relief throughout the state; and provide paid leave and other support for state employees, respectively.
Minnesota Department of Revenue suspends sales tax for certain businesses.
Here is a statement from the MN Department of Revenue:
“In line with the state’s continued response to COVID-19, the Minnesota Department of Revenue is granting a 30-day Sales and Use Tax grace period for businesses identified in Executive Order 20-04. During this time, the department will not assess penalties or interest.
Identified businesses with a monthly Sales and Use Tax payment due March 20, 2020, will have until April 20 to make that payment. These customers should still file their return by March 20. At this time, this grace period for penalty and interest is only for monthly filers and only for the March 20 payment. Identified businesses can request additional relief from penalty and interest for a good cause after April 20.”
If you have questions, please direct them to the Minnesota Department of Revenue at 651-556-300.
Are we overreacting?
I’m still receiving questions from constituents wondering if we might be overreacting to the Covid-19 pandemic, and I’ve been looking for a good way to communicate the gravity of the situation. A constituent, Don Bailey, drew my attention to this graphical simulation, which communicates the essence of the problem perfectly. Disease epidemics don’t spread linearly, they grow exponentially. When I looked at a graph of the growth in confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Minnesota from early March through Monday the 16th, it occurred to me that I might be seeing a Fibonacci Sequence (a sequence of numbers in which each number is the sum of the two preceding ones; for instance 0, 1, 1, 2, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55) in the data; so I plotted the actual numbers against the numbers in the Fibonacci Sequence and discovered an almost perfect alignment. Unless this pattern is broken, we would see the number of cases grow from 54 on Monday to over 75,000 by the end of this month! I am pleased to report that the 77 confirmed cases that the Minnesota Department of Health reported yesterday represent an almost 50% reduction from the number of cases which would be expected if the exponential growth curve had continued on the same trajectory – it looks like our “social distancing’ strategy is already working to flatten out the growth in cases. I urge you to continue doing your part in slowing the spread of this intimidating, but a beatable virus.
Of course, the reported results are undoubtedly less than the actual number of cases (due to the shortage of test kits); however, that has been true since the beginning and it doesn’t change the fact that social distancing strategies work.
This is critically important because our healthcare system simply cannot scale up to deal with such a large influx of new patients in such a short period of time. In a conference call with Hennepin County Medical Center staff, on Tuesday, they reported that they currently only have six spare rooms in their intensive care unit. Flattening out the disease’s growth curve, now, is the best chance we have to be able to provide appropriate care to the most vulnerable members of our community.
Addressing the economic effects of social distancing
This week, most of our focus has, understandably, been on the public health aspects of the pandemic – saving lives comes first. However, we are also aware of the severe economic impact that this social distancing strategy is having on businesses and workers. During the Walz Administration’s Sunday press conference, Commissioner Steve Grove announced a streamlining of the application process for unemployment insurance. If you have been laid off from your job because of the Covid-19 virus, you can apply to receive unemployment insurance benefits immediately. If you are self-employed and have been paying into the unemployment insurance program, you will also qualify for these benefits.
Additional support will be required for those businesses and employees, especially those employed in the hospitality industry, whose businesses have essentially been shuttered, and I would welcome your suggestions about the most effective form that these measures should take – constituents are already sending me some very good ideas.
Keep in Touch
Now more than ever please contact me anytime with questions, input, or ideas. Don’t hesitate to reach out if I can provide any assistance. This situation is evolving constantly and I will be sure to update you with any changes.
Thanks for the honor of representing you at the Capitol.
Sincerely,
Steve Elkins
Representative, District 49B
Minnesota House of Representatives
515 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55155
(651) 296-7803