8-21 COVID-19 Update from MN Department of Health

Minnesota Department of Health COVID-19 Update 8-21-2020

Read the 8-19-2020 COVID-19 Update from the Minnesota Department of Health Here

The Minnesota Department of Health held a 2 p.m. conference call Friday to brief members of the media on the latest public health information regarding COVID-19.

MDH Director of Infectious Disease and Epidemiology Kris Ehresmann:

• Globally, 22.7 million cases worldwide since pandemic began; 794,000 deaths
• In U.S., 5.5 million cases since start of pandemic; 174,000 deaths
• In  Minnesota, 68,133 cumulative cases (up 835 over previous reporting day)
• MN averaging about 614 new cases per day over previous 7 days
• Of the 68,133 cumulative cases, 60,920 (89%) have recovered and no longer need isolation
• In Minnesota, 1,753 cumulative deaths (up 8 over previous day)
• 4 of the 8 new deaths at long-term care facilities
• Hospitalized in MN as of today due to COVID-19: 296; Hospitalized in ICUs as of today: 136
• Recently seeing more outbreaks at bars and large gatherings
• 15 confirmed cases of Minnesotans who attended Sturgis, S.D., motorcycle rally, one of them hospitalized. Recommends people who attended Sturgis to quarantine for 14 days.
• Encouraging parents to get their children vaccinations for back to school. 

MDE Deputy Commissioner Heather Mueller:

• Two weeks away from first day of school, believes “schools are ready.”
• Families should think about having a plan in place in case a family member would get sick.

MDH K-12 School and Childcare Team Leader Susan Klammer:

• Wants students and staff to “lay low before you go.” Avoid high-risk settings.
• Hundreds of school staff in Georgia tested positive, couldn’t attend preparatory activities.
• Don’t attend school if waiting for test results.

Q&A Session and Notes:

• Guidelines for teachers with health conditions? And what about teachers who just don’t feel safe? Mueller: Teachers who have family members who are at risk also qualify to stay home from school. It’s up to each district to decide these policies.
• Any other outbreaks than what took place besides what happened at St. Olaf? Ehresmann: No, we haven’t heard from any other campuses. MDH working with institutions of higher education to provide guidance.
• MDH Restaurant Outbreak List. How current is the list? What should customers do? Ehresmann: In many cases, the type of interactions that occurred it’s not always possible to identify exposure. Reason to make list public.
  • 5 of the 29 establishments “we’re actively monitoring.”
  • Started working on this since June 1 when bars, restaurants allowed to reopen
  • Ehresmann: List isn’t to vilify the establishment. Doesn’t mean workers are doing anything wrong. It could be risky behavior by patrons. But there could be problems with establishments too.
• On St. Olaf outbreak, Ehresmann: “It’s really disappointing” to see this kind of behavior before classes are to begin. Ehresmann notes she’s a St. Olaf grad herself.
• Sturgis outbreak: 14 were attendees, 1 was organizer/event worker. Those infected attended bars, campgrounds as well.
• On increasing number of school districts scaling back from hybrid to distance learning Mueller: “A lot of variables taken into consideration.” One is case data, but also staffing considerations. “It’s a lot of logistical pieces.”
• Any point when state would require districts to step in to mandate in-person learning? Mueller: “It’s recognizing where community is at.” Haven’t had those conversations yet.

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