Governor Tim Walz indicates he has not yet decided whether to extend his stay-at-home order beyond April 10th. “Our [COVID] peak is still coming,” says the governor. “We are seeing real evidence that social distancing is working and slowing this down. We’ll evaluate as we get closer, but I would anticipate sometime towards the early to middle of next week we’ll be making that determination based on the data.”
Walz says state agencies continue gathering data so they can more accurately predict when the peak number of COVID cases could hit Minnesota, and how many intensive-care hospital beds might be needed at that time. The state’s computer model forecasts a peak anywhere from mid-May to mid-June, but other models predict it will be earlier. Officials hope stay-at-home and social distancing measures will push the peak back, giving the state time to marshal adequate medical resources.