Trump’s Failed Coronavirus Response Has Been Devastating For Minnesota Women

As the Women for Trump bus tour comes to Minnesota and desperately tries to distract from Trump’s failed coronavirus response, here’s what you need to know about the reality for Minnesota women: 

Trump has continued to hold large, in person campaign events that eschew public health guidance and put Minnesotans at risk. 

Duluth News Tribune: “The outbreak now includes nine cases associated (with) President Donald Trump’s Sept. 18 rally in Bemidji. Health officials confirmed that count on Friday and said two of those nine have been hospitalized, with one needing intensive care.”

The economic crisis created by Trump’s failure to contain the virus has led women to leave the workforce at a rate four times higher than men. 

NPR: Unemployment in September dipped to 7.9%, from 8.4% in August. The drop was driven primarily by people leaving the workforce — especially women. As a new school year began with many students still home, women left the workforce in September at four times the rate that men did.

CNN: “About 617,000 women left the workforce in September alone, compared with only 78,000 men, according to government data released Friday. Half of the women who dropped out were in the prime working age of 35-44. While the huge number of dropouts also reduced the unemployment rate, the country-wide female jobless rate remained at 8% in September. For Black and Hispanic women, the unemployment rates are higher.”

Trump continues to attack the Affordable Care Act, which provides critical protections for people with pre-existing conditions and makes it harder for insurance companies to charge women higher rates. 

New York Times: “The health insurance industry would be upended by the elimination of A.C.A. requirements. Insurers in many markets could again deny coverage or charge higher premiums to people with pre-existing medical conditions, and they could charge women higher rates.”

The effects of contracting coronavirus can be especially acute in women who are pregnant, with symptoms lasting longer than in other patients. 

Washington Post: “One of the largest studies of its kind suggests that most pregnant women who become infected with the coronavirus will have mild cases but suffer prolonged symptoms that may linger for two months or longer in some cases.”