Good morning and welcome to the middle of the week. Here’s what you need to know today. 

Colder with some morning fog. Twin Cities see some rain, and possibly snow, in the morning with highs in the lower 40s and lows in the upper 20s at night. Statewide, rain in the south, mixing with snow in central Minnesota, with highs nearing 30 in the northwest and upper 40s in the southeast. More on Updraft. | Forecast

What’s on the radio today

Gov. Tim Walz said Minnesota had 243 adult intensive care beds open Tuesday as the number of COVID-19 infections continued to swell across the state.

Constructing makeshift hospitals in school gymnasiums or hotels was an option the state's emergency manager, Joe Kelly, put on the table as 15 Minnesota coronavirus patients remained hospitalized with the need for beds and health system capacity was expected to increase in the coming days.

"We're in good shape now but we need to be prepared to expand that system very quickly,” he said.

Over 260 cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed as of Tuesday, but the actual number of cases is likely at least 10 times higher, according to Health Department officials.

Seven coronavirus patients are currently in intensive care, Walz said Tuesday, which is why it's critical people continue taking measures aimed at “bending the curve.”

Minnesota officials say early signs indicate that preventative measures are helping.

There were 88 coronavirus patients who tested positive no longer need to be isolated, according to the state Health Department. And Walz said preventative actions so far have slowed infection rates in Minnesota and dampened a potential spike.

However, the governor cautioned that more waves of coronavirus cases will come and that continued mitigation efforts will need to last months. He said that cellphone data and other information shows that social distancing is happening, adding, “Minnesotans are taking this seriously.”

“There is no doubt that this is going to take some time,” Walz said. “It's going to be well beyond Easter (April 12), and I don't think it does us any good to pretend that it's not.”

Walz contradicted President Trump, who, against the guidance and wishes of public health experts, said he "would love to have the country opened up and just raring to go by Easter."

The DFL governor also said in his Tuesday briefing that University of Minnesota researchers have been working on some modeling data, which would give state officials a better idea of when Minnesota will reach its peak number of COVID-19 cases.

That information will help inform Walz and his administration on whether social distancing measures are working as they stand now, or whether adjustments need to be made. It’s not clear when this modeling will be available, but it could be out as early as this week.

Earlier Tuesday, the Minnesota Hospital Association said it was pulling together plans to gather medical masks and inventory ventilators.

A Twin Cities team is working “to collect and get a visual on where this equipment is, where it should be warehoused, who needs it most and how to distribute it,” said Dr. Rahul Koranne, the hospital association president. “A lot is going on and we are actively preparing day and night.”

Koranne said it was too early to tell whether cases in Minnesota will exceed hospitals capacity to care for critically ill patients. He urged people to avoid personal contact to try and slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Legislature prepares to meet again under COVID-19 restrictions: Minnesota lawmakers hope to reconvene Thursday to vote on a request from Gov. Tim Walz for another $350 million for the state’s coronavirus response. “It’s critical for us to be able to manage this response,” said Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Myron Frans. “You look at the corrections system. If something were to happen and there was a disease outbreak in one of the correctional facilities that would cause a lot of uncertainty and extra costs and overtime costs. If you look at housing and homelessness issues are really critical now. If you look at food insecurity.”

The science of coronavirus: Researchers are hot on the trail of the new coronavirus. They’re looking for its weaknesses in hopes of stopping it from spreading and putting those who get COVID-19 in a better position to fight it. Kerri Miller and listeners talked with  virologist Angela Rasmussen and infectious disease fellow Dr. Megan Culler Freeman this week about what we know about the virus; how it enters and affects our bodies; and what we have yet to learn.

Mass layoffs for MN science, children's museums amid coronavirus shutdown : The Minnesota Children’s Museum and the Science Museum of Minnesota said Tuesday they would temporarily lay off much of their staff and remain closed given the financial crisis driven by the coronavirus. The children’s museum, which has a $9 million annual operating budget and 150 full- and part-time employees, said it would furlough 75 percent of its workers effective March 29 and reduce salary and hours for those remaining. It will also suspend exhibit development and production.

Cook County tells second-home owners to stay away, for now: The Cook County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved a travel advisory at its meeting in Grand Marais, Minn., requesting that seasonal or second homeowners stay home — for the time being. “Due to our very limited health care infrastructure, please do not visit us now,” the advisory reads.

— Cody Nelson and the rest of the MPR Newsroom