Walz: Social distancing helping; lawmakers to meet Thursday
Steve Karnowski | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 7 months AGO
In this Monday, March 23, 2020, photo, Metro Transit busses travel with the hashtag #STAYHOMEMN during the coronavirus outbreak on Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis. (Carlos Gonzalez/Star Tribune via AP)
Food for the taking and an invitation to leave food is in front of a south Minneapolis home Monday, March 23, 2020 as Minnesotans care for others during the effort to slow down the coronavirus in the state. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz addresses the media during news conference, Wednesday, March 18, 2020, in St. Paul, Minn., where he gave an update on the state's effort to slow down the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)
Bottles are filled with hand sanitizer at Tattersall Distilling Tuesday, March 24, 2020 in Minneapolis as the company lent an effort to provide the sanitizer, made from a World Health Organization recipe and signed off by the FDA, to make available for nursing homes, health centers and first responders fighting the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)
Bottles are filled with hand sanitizer at Tattersall Distilling Tuesday, March 24, 2020 in Minneapolis as the company lent an effort to provide the sanitizer, made from a World Health Organization recipe and signed off by the FDA, to make available for nursing homes, health centers and first responders fighting the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)
Bottles of hand sanitizer made at Tattersall Distilling Tuesday, March 24, 2020 in Minneapolis sit ready for packaging as the company lent an effort to provide the sanitizer, made from a World Health Organization recipe and signed off by the FDA to make available for nursing homes, health centers and first responders fighting the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)
Bottles of hand sanitizer sit ready to be boxed up at Tattersall Distilling Tuesday, March 24, 2020 in Minneapolis as the company lent an hand to provide the sanitizer, made from a World Health Organization recipe and signed off by the FDA, to make available for nursing homes, health centers and first responders fighting the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)
Tattersall Distilling co-founder Dan Oskey, back center, puts 32-oz bottles of newly made hand sanitizer on a conveyor belt for packaging Tuesday, March 24, 2020 in Minneapolis as the company lent a hand to provide the sanitizer, made from a World Health Organization recipe and signed off by the FDA and state licensing requirements to make available for nursing homes, health centers and first responders fighting the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)
Abbott Northwestern's Director of Facilities Steve Waderich showed how the new "High Efficiency Filtration" fan units flow from the inside to the outside in an overflow area at the hospital, Tuesday, March 24, 2020, in Minneapolis. The new units are being placed in multiple rooms that should be ready by tomorrow in preparation for a potential surge. (Elizabeth Flores/Star Tribune via AP)
In this Monday, March 23, 2020, photo, mannequins in the window of Hubert White are seen at night with deserted streets during the coronavirus outbreak at Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis. (Carlos Gonzalez/Star Tribune via AP)
For some social distancing works, for the poor and homeless, getting food to eat doesn't always allow that as evidenced by the line for lunch at Sharing & Caring Hands Tuesday, March 24, 2020, in Minneapolis. People in the line complained of a lack of safe places to go during the day with places like public libraries now closed and also said the lines for services for the homeless appears to be quickly growing. (David Joles/Star Tribune via AP)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Early indications are that Minnesotans are practicing social distancing well enough that they may be helping to slow the spread of COVID-19, Gov. Tim Walz said Tuesday as he staked out a position between a president who wants to restart the economy by Easter and other governors who've already ordered their residents to shelter in place for what could be weeks.
Walz said on a conference call with reporters that he's still waiting for more data on when the number of cases will peak in Minnesota and when intensive care beds will reach capacity. Experts at the University of Minnesota have been working to model those scenarios, and he said the work suggests that “there may be smarter and a more targeted way” to respond.
“But there is no doubt that this is going to take some time” for the virus to run its course and for the economy to recover, he said. “It's going to be well beyond Easter, and I don't think it does us any good to pretend that it's not.”
The governor said he would hope that the president's decisions are driven by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, rather than his top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow as he balances health and economic concerns. He also said he hopes Trump uses his power under the Defense Production Act to crank out personal protective equipment and ventilators and ramp up testing.
“The federal government could really, really help us by using their power to ramp up production and let us do the social things in each area,” he said. "Some areas might need, like New York City, a full shelter in place, no exception. Others may not if we have the capacity to build the ICU beds and we have the ability to test and isolate.”
Walz said the evidence that Minnesotans are keeping their distance and pushing back the peak dates includes cellphone data and reduced traffic in both the Twin Cities area and rural Minnesota showing that people are staying home more and venturing out less He also cited “a natural inclination to follow the rules” by residents.
“We think Minnesota is getting results that look different,” Walz said. That buys the state time to prepare, he added. “The thing that we're striving for is, is to not let anybody show up at the hospital who needs an ICU or a ventilator not be able to get one.”
For most people, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover within weeks.
The Minnesota Department of Health said the state's count of confirmed COVID-19 cases rose to 262 on Tuesday, an increase of 27 from Monday. Fifteen patients were hospitalized out of a total of 21 since the pandemic reached the state.. Seven patients were in intensive care, with 243 adult ICU beds available statewide. There have been no additional deaths since one reported last weekend. Officials have stressed that the real total of Minnesotans with the disease is much higher.
Legislators will return to the Capitol on Thursday to pass legislation to bolster the state's response, Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and Republican Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka said in a joint statement late Tuesday. The chambers had been in recess since early last Tuesday, when they voted unanimously to approve $200 million to help the state's health care system respond to the pandemic.
“We are continuing to work closely with the Walz Administration on urgent COVID-19 matters to protect the health and well-being of Minnesotans," they said in a joint statement. "We will publicly release details on specific legislation on the House and Senate websites as soon as we can. As we convene, we will do so in accordance with guidelines from the Minnesota Department of Health to keep members, staff, and the public safe.”