Governor Tim Walz could announce as soon as today additional measures to control the spread of COVID-19 in Minnesota’s long-term care facilities, which have born the brunt of pandemic deaths in the state. State Senator Karin Housley suggested a number of steps, pointing out 80 percent of Minnesota’s COVID deaths are among residents of long-term care facilities — a much higher proportion than in some other states. State Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm responds unless other states were testing specifically for COVID in long-term care facilities — as Minnesota has done — they might have reported COVID deaths as something else. Malcolm notes “this particular illness and how similar it is to other respiratory illnesses, influenza-like illnesses: flu, pneumonia.”
But Malcolm says COVID deaths in long term care facilities in Minnesota *are* “a serious issue and a serious opportunity for improvement.”