Good morning, Minnesota,
Partly sunny today with a slight chance of light rain or freezing rain for southeast. Highs will range from single digits in northwest to lower 30s in south. Sven Sundgaard has the latest on Updraft. | |
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| Despite plans, precautions, COVID-19 nearly broke Minnesota hospitals. Why? | The COVID-19 pandemic defied the preparations of health care and political leaders, and has taken a toll on a care system that could last for years.
Even before Minnesota's first confirmed case, state health care leaders were designing a strategy to ensure that supplies, equipment and hospital beds were available to respond to the previously unseen coronavirus that had already caused frightening scenes of mass death and stressed health care systems in other countries.
Yet despite the planning, the shutdowns, the remote working and schools, the hundreds of millions of dollars spent, and an effective vaccine, December 2021 – nearly two years after that initial case was detected – was the high watermark for hospital bed shortages, where at times there were literally no intensive care unit beds available in the state.
As we head into the third year of COVID, hospitals in the state are just now crawling out of what may be their hardest struggle since it all started.
So why were hospitals so overwhelmed for so long? Reporters Catharine Richert and Brian Bakst have a look. | |
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Ex-cop Thao testified he assumed other cops were attending to Floyd’s medical needs. In sometimes emotional testimony, Tou Thao spoke to his actions on May 25, 2020, saying he’d never seen someone struggle as much as George Floyd to stay out of a police car and he focused on keeping back bystanders while the officers were trying to arrest Floyd. The ex-cop will continue his testimony in the federal trial today.
Minnesota's newest politics maps have some congressional candidates rethink their plans. The state still has eight seats in the U.S. House, and those eight districts did not dramatically change. Rep. Angie Craig of the 2nd District is likely facing the toughest reelection challenge of any incumbent Minnesota member of Congress and with the redistricting she lost some rural sections of what had been her territory and picked up more suburban voters. Check out more analysis on the redistricted maps and a tool to find out how your area is affected here.
Omicron is ebbing, restrictions are getting lifted. Are we in an endemic yet? Not quite yet, and even when and if it does, it won't be gone. Now is another discombobulating moment in the pandemic, with conflicting signs of where the virus is heading and what people should do about it on a daily basis. If you feel that way, you're not alone.
Your support brings MPR News to our entire state. When you donate, select the Minnesota State Parks Year-Round Vehicle Permit as our thanks to you. Explore Minnesota while supporting MPR. Donate today! | |
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