Gov Walz on COVID: “We are not out of the woods”; urges vigilance this Fall

Heading into fall, Governor Tim Walz is urging Minnesotans to double down in their efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19. Walz says “we are not out of the woods, and I think for many of us, as we transition to fall, I have to be candid with all of you, this was a time that six months ago it was my hope that we would be back to doing all of those things we talked about, going to the state fair, watching high school football, gathering to watch the Gophers on Saturday, all of those things, well the virus has not allowed us to do that.” It’s a sentiment echoed today by state Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm who says “we’re in a more precarious position today than we were heading into the last major holiday weekend, and we just want Minnesotans to be aware there is risk in this situation…the virus is all over the state outbreaks are happening all over the state.”  Walz says of COVID, “we have to remain vigilant, we have got to stick with this, as you’ve seen it burned hot, this virus burned hot in the northeast, it moved to the south, people seething things around the country and now we’ve seen a lot of people go to different places this summer and bring back infections to the midwest.” Just this week a Minnesota man who had been at the Sturgis rally in South Dakota died as a result of COVID-19.