Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz declared a peacetime state of emergency Friday to be ready for whatever the coronavirus throws at the state next.
In addition, the state health commissioner is now discouraging gatherings of more than 250 people, and encouraging “social distancing” at work and in public places.
The announcements, along with several others to be made by Walz and Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm at a news conference at the Capitol, signify the state is entering a new phase of COVID-19 response that will increasingly affect the lives of everyone, healthy or not.
The current goal of health officials right now is to slow the spread of the virus to guard against a crush of sick people that could overwhelm hospitals.
Lastly, on Friday Walz sent a package of COVID-19-inspired proposals to lawmakers and urged them to approve them immediately.
The developments came during a lengthy news conference at the Capitol.
Here’s a quick summary of some of the issues:
SCHOOLS STILL OPEN
Walz and Malcolm have continued to declined to close schools statewide, but rather to encourage social distancing among students and staff — although Malcolm emphasized that officials were taking this decision day-by-day, and individual schools might be forced to close briefly if the facilities become exposed to the virus.
Officials believe school is the safest place for children, and they’re concerned about the number of health care workers who have kids, and keeping healthcare workers at work is a top priority.
NO EMERGENCY ACTIONS
Walz’ emergency declaration gives him sweeping authority, but he didn’t wield any of it Friday.
The announcement was intended to send a message to the state that he’s on the situation and to remove nearly all bureaucratic and legal obstacles to taking aggressive measures if need be.
Under the state’s emergency powers law, Walz could do almost anything, from banning gatherings of any size to closing roads, for five days. That period can be extended 30 days with the agreement of other statewide elected officials.
Minnesota governors have often invoked the law but used its powers sparingly in instances that rarely garner much public attention. Examples include re-routing roads and setting up shelters during snowstorms or waiving weight limits on trucks during pinches in fuel supply chains.
LARGE GATHERINGS DISCOURAGED
Walz could use the emergency powers to ban large gatherings with the force of law — as a number of other governors have done — but he declined to do so Friday.
Instead, he opted to have state health leaders issue “guidance” against gatherings larger than 250.
EXTEND TAX DEADLINE?
Among the proposals Walz wants lawmakers to pass immediately:
- Create an emergency coronavirus fund.
- Ensure no barriers — financial, insurance, or otherwise — to widespread COVID-19 testing as it becomes
- available.
- Consider the possibility of extending the state’s income tax filing deadline past April 15.
- Ensure that people who miss work for any reason attributable to the epidemic can tap their paid sick time, if they have that benefit.
