Contact tracing has evolved to include the most-pressing COVID-19 cases rather than casting a wider net. But a smartphone app is producing more exposure alerts than ever.
Two tools designed to tamp down COVID-19’s spread in Minnesota got revamped amid the latest surge in cases.
A smartphone alert system that had been seeing limited use underwent a recent update to boost notifications. Not long before that, public health officials narrowed contact tracing efforts to focus on the most-concerning patterns.
Both moves are on full display as the fast-spreading delta variant continues to feed case growth and the newly emergent omicron variant causes uneasiness as health experts race to learn more about its severity and transmissibility.
Minnesota officials announced Thursday that the new COVID-19 variant had been detected in the state, involving a man who had been vaccinated and got a booster shot and who traveled to a widely attended convention in New York. More positive test results are under examination to see if they were caused by the new variant.
“It's important that we adapt to the phases of the pandemic, and that we continue to make our surveillance relevant," state Department of Health Infectious Disease Director Kris Ehresmann said in an interview this week.
Judge Regina Chu gives instructions to prospective jurors on the first day of jury selection in the trial of former police officer Kimberly Potter on Tuesday. Screenshot of Court TV video
Prosecutors, defense attorneys and Hennepin County Judge Regina Chu continue to push ahead on the work to pick a jury in the trial of Kimberly Potter, the former Brooklyn Center police officer charged in the Daunte Wright killing.
Twelve jurors have now been selected among the pool of roughly 250 people who’d filled out detailed questionnaires probing their views on race, police and crime. With only two more jurors needed, a full jury of 12 members and two alternates will likely be in place by the end of Friday.
Chu has penciled in Dec. 8 for the start of opening statements in the trial. The trial is expected to end by Dec. 24, Christmas Eve.
What else we're watching
Principal who organized LGBTQ flag display files suit against Marshall's school district. A school administrator has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Marshall public school district for alleged discrimination and removal from her position after hanging an LGBTQ Pride flag in the school cafeteria as part of an inclusivity project.
What do we know about the omicron variant in Minnesota? State health officials expected to find the new omicron variant in Minnesota with an ability to detect changes in the coronavirus using gene sequencing. And on Thursday, they publicly confirmed the first case in a Minnesota resident. Here’s what we know — and don’t know — about the new variant and its impact on the state’s COVID-19 response.
Utility delays stymy hundreds of solar projects — and jobs — in Minnesota. Solar projects are booming in Minnesota, and so are delays in getting those projects connected to the power grid.
