State health officials says they’re continuing to ask daycare facilities in Minnesota to remain open amid the COVID-19 pandemic. State Health Department’s Kris Ehresmann notes the guidance on staying home if you’re sick applies to all ages. “As a parent if you have a child who’s sick, they should not be sent to daycare, but we are not asking childcare to close, she says. Ehresmann adds Minnesota does not have any coronavirus cases in children at this point.
Ehresmann advises Minnesotans to be judicious when deciding whether to purchase COVID-19 tests being offered on the private market. “You do well if you work with your health care provider through a trusted system,” she says. Ehresman adds she gets at least 10 e-mails a day from companies offering laboratory testing.
Because of limited supplies, state public health officials are restricting their tests for COVID-19 to hospital patients, health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities. Ehresmann says private labs can use any criteria they want when deciding whom to test.