COVID-19 Daily Briefing: Deaths rising at predicted pace in Minn., Lt. Gov. Flanagan talks about community resilience, recovery group

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and state leaders addressed an array of topics during Friday’s COVID-19 daily briefing, including plans to buy a facility to store human remains in the event there’s a surge in COVID-19 deaths.

The following details each topic discussed during the call:

Updated COVID-19 numbers

Earlier Friday, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) reported 723 new positive COVID-19 cases and 26 new deaths, pushing the state’s totals to 10,088 cases and 534 deaths. Walz said the number of deaths continue to "steadily rise," as anticipated.

MDH: 723 new COVID-19 cases reported in Minnesota, 26 new deaths

The demographic of Minnesota deaths continue to be similar in connection with long-term care facilities.

Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director Joe Kelly addressed a recent request to the legislature. Walz’s administration hasn’t released a COVID-19 projection model for nearly a month, but they’re preparing for the worst. The plan would spend $6.9 million on a warehouse facility to temporarily store human remains of COVID-19 patients. Officials said the site needs to be available in case there is a surge in the number of deaths from COVID-19.

"As we look to the future, we see a surge of fatality has been more than what local communities can handle," Kelly said. "We look at that capability throughout the pandemic."

The plan is to purchase a warehouse building so bodies can be properly handled if it comes to that point. Kelly would not say where an exact location would be, as negotiations were still in progress as of Friday.

"I know this is a sensitive topic. It’s an uncomfortable topic for a lot of people, but we need to have a capability, we need to have a plan for a large number of deaths," Kelly said. "The facility, what’s contemplated by the purchase is to buy a building where we can properly with dignity and respect and safety the bodies of Minnesotans who will fall victim to the coronavirus."

Also, the state has already started construction on an alternate care facility in Roseville at a former nursing home. Should Minnesota hospitals reach capacity, the site would be available for non-COVID-19 patients of low-level care so space at regular hospitals could be saved for COVID-19 patients. Walz said the state is so far just working on the one site but has other areas planned should they be needed.

MDH Commissioner Jan Malcolm said global numbers have reached about 3.8 million and around 269,000 deaths. She said, regarding Minnesota testing, there have been recent issues with some laboratories reporting later in the day. Additionally, some labs are only reporting their positives and not total cases. Malcolm said they are needing more lab cleanup but are still making steady progress on where the lab needs to be.

She added that she’s confident in numbers being reported overall.

Malcolm provided news regarding an antiviral called remdesivir that has been shown in early trials to have beneficial treatment effects for people with severe cases. She noted Dr. Anthony Fauci says the drugmaker Gilead’s study shows people receiving the drug can be discharged at a 30% shorter timeline.

"This would be extremely good news if that effect holds up," Malcolm said. She added it would give state leaders a bridge for additional time and treatment.

Gilead made a donation of remdesivir to Health and Human Services, and they are distributing it to states. Minnesota will receive a limited shipment of the drug. This is the first shipment, with the anticipation and hope there will be more to come. Malcolm added that a developing criterion is in the works to discuss how the drug will be distributed.

Regarding testing as a whole, Malcolm reassured to Minnesotans that if they think they may have contracted COVID-19, they should seek testing. At the beginning of the pandemic, Minnesota only had limited testing supplies but those supplies have since gone up, boosting testing results for the state.

"Providers are telling us that people aren’t coming in," said Malcolm. "We need to do more outreach, have a stronger campaign so people know they can and should be tested if they are having symptoms."

COVID-19 crisis exposing racial, economic inequities

Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan joined the call Friday, acknowledging that many Minnesotans are going a good job of social distancing. She said it’s unacceptable to let this pandemic take a turn for the worse, especially for communities of color and indigenous communities.

"This public health crisis is exposing racial and economic inequities," Flanagan said.

In response, the lieutenant governor said they have launched a recovery and resiliency group. Malcolm said workers in the health community have been working for years to call attention to the state’s health inequities. This virus has added urgency to it.

By looking at the reported numbers, Malcolm said that people of color and Native Americans are experiencing inequities that make them susceptible to high-risk diseases, such as heart disease or diabetes. These communities are also recognized for working in industries that face higher risks, such as grocery stores or long-term care facilities.

Flanagan said the recovery and resiliency group is in partnership with the Department of Human Rights and other community leaders. The group has an intentional focus on people of color, indigenous communities, refugees and immigrants.

"We are listening and will not stop working hard for you," Flanagan said, addressing those communities. She added, "It’s critically important we are transparent about this data."

The goal is to increase transparency when sharing data about how the virus is impacting these community members. Flanagan said Black and Latinx communities are testing positive and are hospitalized at higher rates from COVID-19. A big part of this reasoning is due to families working in essential services, as there remains a higher rate of exposure.

Many Black and Native Minnesotans already experience homelessness at disproportional rates, said Flanagan. A large amount of the homeless community have tested positive for the virus.

Malcolm said the highest-priority populations include homeless encampments and shelters. The need is to test more broadly for those areas.

Upcoming graduation ceremonies, parties

Walz said listening to health experts will determine how graduation ceremonies and parties will be held going forward, no matter the size of the community.

State leaders Friday recommended schools only hold virtual ceremonies and no-person events.

"I have pushed incredibly hard on this to find solutions," he said. "I asked about 20 different kids at a time in 10 different ceremonies."

He said state leaders are doing their best to strike a balance between public health and important social milestones. Districts have asked state leaders for immediate guidance, but the guidance could change, as shown throughout this process. Malcolm added social distancing is still a must along with limiting gatherings of groups of people. Most of these situations would not be easy for social distancing to be in place, excluding virtual ceremonies/parties.

Malcolm advised keeping all physical contact in the immediate household for the time being.