5-18-2020 COVID-19 Update from the MN Department of Health

Minnesota Department of Health COVID-19 Update 5-18-2020

Read the Recap from the 5-15-2020 COVID-19 Update from the MN Department of Health Here

On Monday, May 18, the Minnesota Department of Health held a conference call to brief members of the media on the latest public health information regarding COVID-19.

The following is a summary of that media briefing.

Update from MDH Commissioner Jan Malcolm:

• Globally, there are 4.7 million cases of COVID 19 and 315,000 deaths
• In the U.S., 1.5 million cases and 89,500 deaths 
• In Minnesota, there are 16,372 cases and 731 deaths. 
• Minnesota’s doubling time for COVID-19 cases is now at 12 days, which is longer than it has been for the last couple of weeks. This is a positive sign, but it can change with very little notice. 
• Nine deaths were reported in Minnesota, which is the lowest number in the last month
• Currently 488 patients in the hospital, 229 in intensive care 
• 10,764 cases released from isolation since March 6 
• Update on long-term care five point plan:
  • Increase testing in long-term care facilities, such that any facility with one confirmed case of COVID-19 or two or more people with symptoms, even prior to testing, that would trigger a plan to test everyone (staff and residents), in those facilities. We’ve been working hard to get that up and running, not only the new testing protocol, but more state support for the logistics of getting that testing to happen in long-term care facilities has been our focus over the last week or so. 
    • We’ve sent mobile testing teams to 21 facilities, an additional 54 facilities are in the queue and are being scheduled for that testing. 
  • Continue to provide emergency staffing support when long-term care facilities find themselves short of critical staff. We’ve had a number of instances where staff have been pulled together from volunteers, and even the National Guard. The state is working to build up a robust system for the expected shortages in the coming weeks and months. There are nurses coming from the Veterans Administration system to help with that bridge task force in the short term.
  • Teams are ready to make on-site visits as soon as a facility becomes COVID-positive. Those teams continue to be refined with epidemiologists, folks from the health regulation division, infection control and the MDH is also bringing in partners from local public health to get on site at these facilities as soon as possible to provide the technical assistance that they need around testing and infection control. 
• Testing — over 6,000 tests conducted on Sunday. It’s a lower level than done on prior days, but it’s a reflection of shorter clinic hours on Sundays. 
• Anyone with symptoms of COVID-19 can and should be getting tested.  
• If a site doesn’t have testing available, the symptomatic people should get referrals to a site that does have tests available.
• When people test positive, or if they’re feeling sick and haven’t been tested yet, they should isolate at home to control the spread.
• When you do get tested, the clinic that does the testing is where you would get the results. 
• Test results should take several days to come back, depending on where you get tested. Some clinics use national laboratories where it takes a little longer to get the results. 
• While you’re waiting for your test results, stay home and separate yourself from other people in your home as much as you can. Wash your hand often and clean frequently touched surfaces in your home.
• As more businesses are opening, social distancing policies need to still be in place. Business environments need to do things like screening employees and customers before they come into the environment to manage the risk of exposure. Also, things such as engineering controls to space people out, moving merchandise and equipment, limiting the number of people in the environment at a certain time, cleaning, requiring masks for workers and customers.
• It’s also important that Minnesotans be a part of this staged reopening. Stay at home and isolate if you’re not feeling well and symptomatic. Or if you’ve been exposed, stay home and quarantine yourself. 
• Minimize group gatherings outside your immediate household. 
• Lower risk does not equal no risk. Social distancing and wearing masks “are just so very important to help to further reduce that risk wherever and however it can be.” 
• We are going to be in this phase of staged reopening for “quite a while” until there’s a vaccination and treatment.  

Additional notes from the conference call:

• 76 percent of hospitalized cases have pre-existing conditions, according to Kris Ehresmann from the MDH.
  • Of 2,128 people hospitalized, the numbers break down as:
    • 926 white
    • 432 black
    • 133 Asian
    • 2 as Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander 
    • 46 American Indian or Alaska Native
    • 35 as multi-racial 
    • 107 other 
    • 447 missing 
• Kris Ehresmann says obesity if a risk-factor for COVID-19. There’s a large portion of Minnesota’s population that falls into the “at-risk” category with conditions such as diabetes, heart disease or obesity. Those are all things that need to be considered as health officials keep talking about social distancing and wearing masks.  
• MDH officials received a question about contact tracing numbers in the state. “We have been building up our staff capacity significantly in recent weeks,” Malcolm said. As of Friday, 400 staff have been doing contact tracing. Adding an additional 100 staff this week. The goal is 1,400 total case investigators and follow-up contact tracers between now and June 1. 
• Ehresmann said if you have symptoms and you’ve gone in for testing, you should stay home until you get those test results. In the meantime, that individual who’s been tested should think about who they’ve been around in recent days.   
• Malcolm said there is still community transmission going on. It’s not all isolated to food processing plants or long-term care facilities. So it’s still important to not do as much interacting as we would all love to be doing. 
• Health care workers who’ve been infected by COVID-19 receive follow-up by special MDH teams. That follow up is quite rigorous because of the potential for transmission in their work setting.
• Malcolm recommends wearing of masks both indoors and outdoors. She says talking can even result in transmission. Ehresmann says if you have people over in your back yard, a mask is still recommended. 
• Malcolm said that the fact that people aren’t wearing masks is an indication that the MDH has to do a better job of educating people. 

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