 | Courtesy of the Minnesota Department of Health
July 27, 2020
Minnesota has well over 51,000 coronavirus cases | |
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Good morning. It’s the last week unemployed people will be able to get $600 a week from the federal government to help cover living expenses amid the pandemic. We’ll get to the latest on a potential continuation of federal aid might look like, after the weather and latest on COVID-19 in Minnesota.
Sunny and calm. Twin Cities highs in the lower 80s with 10 to 15 mph winds and nighttime lows around 60. Statewide highs from the mid-70s to lower 80s with sunny skies. More on Updraft | Forecast
Minnesota surpassed 50,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 over the weekend. However, state health officials say the actual number of cases is much higher than what’s being reported due to limits on testing.
The percentage of positive tests appears to be creeping up, too. It held under 5 percent for nearly a week, but ticked up again yesterday and crossed the 5-percent threshold. We are really far from flattening the curve, once again.
Here are the latest coronavirus statistics:
- 51,153 cases confirmed (871 new) via 957,374 tests
- 1,574 deaths (3 new)
- 4,920 cases requiring hospitalization
- 273 people remain hospitalized; 115 in intensive care
- 44,431 patients no longer requiring isolation
Gov. Tim Walz will announce his plan for the upcoming school year on Thursday. And no, we still don’t know what to expect.
The governor has dropped some hints, though. He’s suggested that there won’t be a uniform order determining whether school buildings reopen. Walz has said local decisions are important and it’ll be up to school leaders to implement safety guidelines. "It won't necessarily look the same everywhere,” he said earlier this week, “but the outcomes need to be the same — kids and staff safe in that learning environment.”
Some Twin Cities teachers made clear their views on the matter. Hundreds of teachers, staff, parents and students rallied in St. Paul Friday, calling on the governor to keep schools at distance learning unless Minnesota’s coronavirus numbers dramatically improve. “We are at an impasse in these frightening times,” Kimberly Caprini, a member of the Minneapolis Board of Education, said. “Protect our families. Protect our teachers. No return to in-person school until 14 days of no COVID-19 cases across the whole state.”
Before we go, let’s see how Congress is doing with figuring out another pandemic relief package … Negotiations continued yesterday, with Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying Republicans were in “disarray” over what should pass. Pelosi disagreed with the Trump administration’s desire to cut the $600 a week to 70 percent of pre-pandemic wages. We’re not sure what it is, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is expected to bring forward a relief proposal of some kind this afternoon.
— Cody Nelson, MPR News | @codyleenelson |
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