State of the State Address: Governor Walz Remarks as Prepared   [St. Paul, MN] – Governor Tim Walz will deliver his second State of the State address from the Governor’s Residence today. Below are his remarks as prepared. As a reminder, these remarks are embargoed until the Governor begins speaking. Good Evening, Minnesotans. Thank you for joining me on this beautiful Sunday. I am speaking to you live from the Governor’s Residence where I have been in self-quarantine. Self-quarantine. Self-isolation. Social distancing. Phrases that many of us never used before now roll off our tongue in daily conversation. A new vocabulary [...]

April 5, 2020   Updated April 5, 2020 Updated daily at 11 a.m., with data current as of 4 p.m. the previous day. Dates provided are those when the case, hospitalization, or death was first posted in this situation report. Testing Total approximate number of completed tests: 26,777 Total approximate number of completed tests from the MDH Public Health Lab: 8,846 Total approximate number of completed tests from external laboratories: 17,931 Minnesota Case Information Total positive: 935 Patients who no longer need to be isolated: 451 Deaths Total deaths: 29 Hospitalization Total cases requiring hospitalization: 202 Hospitalized as of today: 106 [...]

April 4, 2020   Testing Total approximate number of completed tests: 25,423 Total approximate number of completed tests from the MDH Public Health Lab: 8,738 Total approximate number of completed tests from external laboratories: 16,685 Minnesota Case Information Total positive: 865 Patients who no longer need to be isolated: 440 Deaths Total deaths: 24 Hospitalization Total cases requiring hospitalization: 180 Hospitalized as of today: 95 Hospitalized in ICU as of today: 42 Demographics <!-- Health care workers: Worked in or attended school or child care: --> Age Median Age Age Range All cases 48 4 months - 104 years Non-hospitalized cases [...]

While many in state government are dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, other emergencies won't stop. Joe Kelly is the director of the Minnesota Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. "We're not immune from future emergencies and disaster just because we have our hands full with COVID-19," said Kelly. "We need to be ready for anything and I'm confident we will be." Kelly says Friday was a perfect example as part of the state was dealing with winter weather, while other parts of the state are dealing with flooding

There's been a variety of advice from the federal level on whether or not it is good to wear a mask over your face to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Minnesota Department of Health Director Jan Malcom says their advice hasn't changed. "When you wear a mask it doesn't prevent you from contracting COVID-19," said Malcom. "But if you are ill or asymptomatic it will prevent you from spreading the virus." Malcom is asking regular folks to not use medical grade or surgical masks if they choose to wear one "These supplies are in high need and are meant to protect [...]

An antibody test related to COVID-19 will be released by the Mayo Clinic next week. Doctor Deepi Goyal with the Mayo Clinic says it's a game-changer. "This will detect an immune response in a patient that may have had the virus," said Goyal. "The advantage of that is they can detect antibodies it can identify patients that have may potentially have been exposed and may be immune to subsequent infections of COVID. And I say maybe expose because we don't know for sure how this virus will behave." Goyal says medical professionals will need to learn more about how to use [...]

April 3, 2020   Testing Total approximate number of completed tests: 24,227 Total approximate number of completed tests from the MDH Public Health Lab: 8,682 Total approximate number of completed tests from external laboratories: 15,545 Minnesota Case Information Total positive: 789 Patients who no longer need to be isolated: 410 Deaths Total deaths: 22 Hospitalization Total cases requiring hospitalization: 156 Hospitalized as of today: 86 Hospitalized in ICU as of today: 40 Demographics Age Median Age Age Range All cases 48 4 months - 104 years Non-hospitalized cases 42 4 months - 104 years Hospitalized cases 64 6 - 98 years Hospitalized cases in ICU [...]

With schools moving to distance learning, free nutritious school meals for Minnesota kids 18 and under are only a click away. The Free Meals for Kids mobile App helps families in need find and access free meals at hundreds of schools and other sites across Minnesota. "We have almost 700 sites that are listed on the ap, there've been 2,000 visits since as of April 1st." CEO of Hunger Impact Partners Ellie Lucas says the app is powered by GPS and shows locations of schools and other sites that are providing meals and meal packs, with days and hours for distribution. [...]