Gazelka says Senate Repubs could have handled COVID outbreak among GOP members differently

Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka says about a COVID outbreak involving at least four state senators and an unknown number of staffers that “in hindsight, we could have handled the event and our information sharing differently.” Senate Democratic Leader Susan Kent demanded Gazelka’s resignation, saying he didn’t perform his duty to keep members of state Senate safe from COVID during last Thursday’s special session. G-O-P leaders responded no one from the Republican caucus with a known positive COVID test or COVID symptoms attended the special session in person. But Gazelka said today he’ll personally apply lessons from the episode “to inform future decisions as we prepare for the 2021 legislative session.” Gazelka himself tested positive for COVID and says he’s under self-quarantine in Florida.