Gov Walz gives update on long-term care progress amid COVID-19; says mask mandate decision coming soon

Governor Tim Walz and state leaders gave an update today on the state’s Five-Point Battle Plan to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 in long-term care facilities. Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said “the clear majority of nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Minnesota have no current identified COVID cases. These facilities are safer today than they were at the beginning of the pandemic.” Republican Senator Karin Housley of St. Marys Point, however, calls the governor’s response a “delayed display of leadership” and adds “at best, the administration is trying to paint a positive picture. At worst, this administration was grossly incompetent and negligent in protecting our seniors.” At a press conference today, Governor Tim Walz was critical of the Trump administration for its handling of the distribution of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other tools amid the coronavirus pandemic “because there was no national strategy–50 governors are getting this same question all the time, this is what’s so frustrating about this and I have to tell you again, here’s what’s really frustrating, we are right back there again, 3M cannot keep up, we’re hearing about PPE shortages across the country.” Walz says he’ll be announcing a decision in the next day or two about a possible statewide mask mandate to help curb the spread of COVID-19. And he did praise Trump for a recent tweet indicating that wearing a mask was a sign of patriotism. Walz said “getting people to buy into the mandate is not to punish people, it’s to put the emphasis behind doing that and what I’ve said is if the President wears a mask, you will instantly see 10% of the public or more go up and do this.”