Good morning. We'll see mostly sunny skies throughout the state. Highs in the mid 70s in the Twin Cities, and closer to upper 50s in northeast Minnesota, and lower 80s in southwest. Updraft President Donald Trump staged a dramatic return to the White House Monday night after leaving the military hospital where he has been receiving an unprecedented level of care for COVID-19. He immediately ignited a new controversy by declaring that despite his illness the nation should not fear the virus that has killed more than 210,000 Americans — and then he entered the White House without a protective mask.
Trump's message alarmed infectious disease experts and suggested the president’s own illness had not caused him to rethink his often-cavalier attitude toward the disease, which has also infected the first lady and several White House aides, including new cases revealed on Monday.
Trump’s nonchalant message about not fearing the virus comes as his own administration has encouraged Americans to be very careful and take precautions to avoid contracting and spreading the disease as cases continue to spike across the country.
“We have to be realistic in this: COVID is a complete threat to the American population,” said Dr. David Nace of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, an expert on infections in older adults. “Most of the people aren’t so lucky as the president,” with an in-house medical unit and access to experimental treatments, Nace added.
Fairview Health Services said Monday it will close two hospitals in St. Paul as part of a major restructuring.
Bethesda Hospital near the Capitol will be leased to Ramsey County to be used as a homeless shelter. St. Joseph’s downtown will become a "community hub for health and wellness."
The major restructuring will eliminate about 900 positions. Fairview said it lost $163 million in the first six months of this year, and the pandemic has exacerbated its financial challenges.
In light of President Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis , state officials on Friday warned that people who attended the president’s recent Minnesota events might be infectious without knowing it.
So far, though, the Health Department hasn’t confirmed cases directly from those events.
“Our teams are constantly looking for clusters of cases associated with any sort of group setting and our awareness is heightened because of the situation with the president. And we have not yet identified any positive cases at this point,” Kris Ehresmann, the state’s infectious disease director, told reporters Monday.
However, an iconic Minneapolis steakhouse began a quarantine for 13 staff members after catering a fundraiser attended by Trump last week. Murry's Restaurant said in a statement they immediately enacted a 14-day quarantine and each staff member will be tested for COVID-19.
Here are Minnesota’s current COVID-19 statistics:
- 2,083 deaths
- 104,799 positive cases, 94,416 off isolation
- 2,169,786 tests, 1,494,177 people tested
- 4.5 percent seven-day positive test rate
-- Matt Mikus, MPR News @mikusmatt | 
