The number of Minnesotans hospitalized for COVID-19 hit a new high Monday as a major trade group representing Minnesota’s hospitality industry warned of widespread business failures if conditions don’t improve soon.
While many people got back to work in Minnesota this week, continued restrictions are putting restaurants, bars, hotels and more on the brink, said Liz Rammer, CEO of the trade group Hospitality Minnesota, said Monday.
“We know from our recent survey that more than half these businesses face certain, permanent closure in the next two months on the current course,” she said.
While Rammer said her members understand the need to check the spread of the coronavirus, they’ve taken a “monumental hit” the past six weeks. “We’re confident,” she said, “that our hospitality businesses are ready to open now. Our businesses and the public are ready to approach this new new normal.”
Gov. Tim Walz on Monday reiterated the need to balance public health with the need to restart more sectors of the economy, saying “this is the question that's vexing everyone.” He did not give a date as to when restaurants and bars could start letting people dine in.
Here are the latest coronavirus statistics:
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7,234 confirmed cases via 85,941 tests
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428 deaths
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1,271 cases requiring hospitalization
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396 people remain hospitalized; 166 in intensive care
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4,212 patients recovered
The Health Department’s COVID-19 website has now added a separate death toll for people who lived in long-term care or assisted-living facilities. On Monday, that count was 345 deaths.
One hopeful statistic from Monday: about 58 percent of Minnesota’s total COVID-19 paints have recovered. Last week, that percentage got as low as about 40 percent as testing, and case counts, increased.
More Minnesotans back to work
While the uncertainty continued for bars and restaurants, the state on Monday lifted some restrictions on retailers that could put as many as 30,000 Minnesotans back on the job; bars and restaurants, however, remain takeout-only until May 18.
Walz’s tweaked stay-at-home order lets retailers and other businesses offer curbside pickup of purchases.
Walz on Monday said that about 91 percent of Minnesota’s workforce is now able to return to their workplaces with hygiene and distancing rules in place. Restaurants and bars remain the biggest sector still unable to bring customers back into their buildings.
Rammer made it clear the breaking point is approaching.
"Reopening won't be sufficient,” she said. “These businesses really need an extra hand up.”
For those that do survive, it will still take time for them to order food and get ready to open. “The coolers have been empty for some time,” she said, emphasizing that business owners want certainty on when they can open.
Walz said he could not yet give dates for the next round of business reopenings. "I don't have an exact date. … The sooner you can get certainty, the better."
Many new cases focus around food-processing plants
About 25 percent of the 1,000 new coronavirus cases over the weekend came from five counties that have seen outbreaks in food processing plants, Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said.
Cases in Nobles County in southwestern Minnesota, where an outbreak centered around the JBS pork plant in Worthington, continue to swell. The county continued to have the largest outbreak outside the Twin Cities and the largest by far of any Minnesota county relative to its population.
Confirmed cases in Nobles County have jumped from a handful in mid-April to 1,011 on Monday as testing in the region accelerates, revealing more cases. That’s about 1 in 20 people in the county confirmed infected.
The JBS plant shut on April 20 as executives worked to control the disease’s spread. The union representing workers at JBS said Sunday that it's been told the facility will reopen on Wednesday. In a statement, union leaders said workers will be spaced farther apart and the plant will expand cleaning and disinfecting.
The closure of the plant and others in the Midwest has caused major disruption in the supply chain, with some hog farmers forced to kill healthy pigs because there was no place to process them.
Similar problems were reported in Stearns County, where COVID-19 cases tied to two packing plants — Pilgrim’s Pride poultry plant in Cold Spring and Jennie-O Turkey in Melrose — have skyrocketed. An undisclosed number of workers at both plants have tested positive for the virus.
At the beginning of last week, there were 55 confirmed coronavirus cases in Stearns. By Sunday, as testing for the disease intensified, there were 589 and by Monday confirmed cases had jumped again to 728.
Kandiyohi County in west-central Minnesota is also seeing cases jump two weeks after officials with the Jennie-O turkey processing plant there said some employees had tested positive for the coronavirus. The county had confirmed three COVID-19 cases back then. On Monday, the Health Department reported 188 people in Kandiyohi County have now tested positive.
Developments from around the state
State OKs $11M for animal carcass disposal
Minnesota will spend up to $11 million from its COVID-19 response account to help farmers dispose of wasted animal carcasses due to disruptions at meat-processing facilities.
Several food plants have been idled or cut back on production due to coronavirus outbreaks among employees. That’s caused a clog in the supply chain and led farmers to destroy animals that would have otherwise been processed for meat.
In a notice posted Monday, the Walz administration said the money would be freed up for the Department of Agriculture to dispose of the carcasses. More information was not immediately available about how that would occur.
The Legislature put $200 million into the COVID-19 fund for quick dispersal as needs arise. The administration must run spending of more than $1 million off a panel of top lawmakers, who would have to muster a majority to stop the use.
To date, $114 million in spending has been authorized — for everything from purchases of medical masks, gloves and gowns to a testing partnership with the Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota.
— Brian Bakst | MPR News
Boundary Waters reopening for day use
The Boundary Waters Canoe Area is opening for day use on Tuesday but will remain closed to overnight paddlers through May 17.
The Superior National Forest said that's to align with the state's stay at home order and Gov. Tim Walz's request to recreate close to home. Those who made overnight reservations through May 17 will receive a full refund.
The cancellation of overnight permits is a blow to canoe outfitters in northern Minnesota that provide gear and food to people entering the wilderness. But the Superior National Forest said allowing day use provides some opportunities for local recreation and businesses.
Bill Forsberg, who operates Timber Trail Lodge and Boundary Waters Outfitters outside Ely, Minn., said his customers are frustrated but understanding.
"People still want to come, and so far most of our customers are willing to just hang on to their permit in hopes that they can come,” he said. “But, groups in June are now starting to get nervous, let alone the ones in May."
Forsberg said he lost several thousand dollars in reservations for the next two weeks.
Meanwhile, the National Park Service says Voyageurs National Park will also be closed to overnight use through May 17. Quetico Provincial Park across the Canadian border from the Boundary Waters remains closed until the end of May.
— Dan Kraker | MPR News
Deal on elective surgeries, dental work expected Tuesday
The governor had put a hold on elective surgeries and nonemergency dental procedures over the past weeks to preserve crucial protective gear and equipment needed to respond to a surge in COVID-19 cases. On Thursday, he said that hospitals, so far, have enough gear to handle the cases.
On Monday, he said he expected an announcement Tuesday that will allow doctors, hospitals and dental clinics to return to that work.
— MPR News Staff
Walz order temporarily stops wage garnishing for debt
Walz on Monday signed an executive order exempting federal, tribal, state, and local COVID-19 relief funds from being automatically intercepted by creditors and debt collectors.
Walz in a statement said the order “will help alleviate the financial burden Minnesotans are facing, allowing them to pay rent and put food on the table.”
The governor said the order doesn’t suspend payments for child or spousal support.
— MPR News Staff
MN Senate backs $20M to boost internet access
The Minnesota Senate on Monday voted to spend $20 million to provide greater access to high-speed internet in an age of distance learning and telemedicine.
The bill would set up a special grant program for districts that needed to shore up internet availability while schools are closed due to COVID-19. Sen. Torrey Westrom, R-Elbow Lake, said it's a matter of educational fairness.
“For students that have to drive 20 and 30 minutes from home to go sit in their car to do homework outside their school just so they can get Wi-Fi or high-speed internet access or go sit at the McDonald's if they have one close.”
Additional money was put into a border-to-border broadband account to assist areas that aren’t served or are underserved. A House plan would spend even more on the high-speed grants. The two proposals could be reconciled in the weeks ahead.
— Brian Bakst | MPR NewsTop headlines
Top headlines
An uncertain fall means once college-bound students are weighing their options: The unpredictability of COVID-19 has many Minnesota high school seniors reconsidering plans to enroll in college this fall. Many schools are preparing for declining student enrollment and a financial fallout.
Republicans push Walz to speed up business reopenings: DFL Gov. Tim Walz says he’s working on reopening more businesses that were closed amid COVID-19 concerns, but he’s not sure when it will happen. Senate Republicans say the governor needs to move faster or those businesses will disappear.
COVID-19 in Minnesota
Health officials for weeks have been increasingly raising the alarm over the spread of the novel coronavirus in the United States. The disease is transmitted through respiratory droplets, coughs and sneezes, similar to the way the flu can spread.
Government and medical leaders are urging people to wash their hands frequently and well, refrain from touching their faces, cover their coughs, disinfect surfaces and avoid large crowds, all in an effort to curb the virus’ rapid spread.
The state of Minnesota has temporarily closed schools, while administrators work to determine next steps, and is requiring a temporary closure of all in-person dining at restaurants, bars and coffee shops, as well as theaters, gyms, yoga studios and other spaces in which people congregate in close proximity.
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