Gov. Walz signs executive order to activate National Guard to assist with COVID-19 emergency
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks with reporters at the Capitol in St. Paul, Minn., Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019, shortly after sending a letter to top legislative leaders asking them to convene a conference committee to negotiate the differences between competing House Democratic and Senate GOP insulin affordability plans.[AP/ Steve Karnowski]
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed an executive order on Saturday that activates the Minnesota National Guard for assistance with the coronavirus pandemic.
Executive Order 20-13 authorizes the National Guard to assist during the peacetime emergency. The National Guard’s first mission is to move personal protective equipment from Camp Ripley in Little Falls to the Minnesota Department of Health warehouse in St. Paul.
Personal protective equipment, which includes N95 masks, is in "critically low supply" at hospitals and health care facilities in Minnesota, according to the governor’s news release.
“In times of need, Minnesotans pull together to make sure we have the resources and supplies we need to get through challenges," Walz said. “Minnesota’s hospitals, health care facilities, and first responders are in desperate need of personal protective equipment, and I’m grateful to have the Minnesota National Guard’s partnership in delivering these supplies for Minnesotans.”
The Minnesota National Guard will remain active through the duration of the peacetime emergency, according to the release.