COVID-19, Briefing, Minnesota: State Health Leaders Deal with Mask Delegate, Update Medical Supplies

Minnesota Secretary of Health Jan Malcolm said many questions about the powers of Musk continue to be asked. People exempt from wearing them include those with medical or mental health conditions that make wearing masks difficult. Malcolm is exempt for children under 5 and children under 2 should not wear face masks. MDH recommends that children over the age of 2 wear face covers when possible.

“We believe masking helps,” Malcolm said. “Masking itself is not a magical answer. You need to avoid long contact times in crowded areas, especially indoors, and maintain social distances.”

Malcolm said the intent of the facemask mission was to reinforce expectations of the Minnesota, not just the local units of the governor or employer. The governor said the intention was compliance, not law enforcement.

Malcolm said, “No one in the jurisdiction is going to give out tickets, but they are associated with misdemeanor tickets. I think hope and intent are for people to understand the importance of this.” Said.

Chris Ehresman, MDH Director of Epidemiology and Preventive Controls, said more cases are seen in younger, working-age residents in the state. Therefore, she urges us to consider their role in life before deciding to participate in situations where we cannot keep a distance. Minnesota no longer considers the workplace a source of infection. Instead, it is a socially engaged individual.

“Are you working in a parenting environment? Are you a health care worker?”

Malcolm re-referenced the median age of positive cases that continued to decline on Friday. The median age is currently 36 years, 1.3 years a week, down 40 years from a month ago. The reason is related to the availability of more common tests, as the state was initially focused on long-term intensive care facilities when the outbreak of COVID-19 began. However, Malcolm has expressed concern that young people are infected with the virus.

Minnesota executive director Alice Roberts Davis said the situation involving medicines and PPE remains “difficult” and “high demand”. She said ensuring that healthcare professionals are adequately supplied is a 24-hour job every day.

She says she isn’t interested in her current condition because of the amount of hospitals and state warehouses. State warehouses complement Minnesota health care providers. They work with the Community Health Alliance for supplies. If they fail, they can request state supplies.

“Medical facilities are more than needed for PPE since the beginning of the pandemic,” Roberts-Davis said by phone.

She added that finding gloves that meet the criteria, and N-95 masks, was the most difficult. To address the mask issue, MDH has partnered with the University of Minnesota to ensure the mask reaches the necessary safety requirements. Roberts-Davis said the state is waiting for 2 million ventilators.

According to Roberts-Davis, the state is in a better position than it was four months ago. The state has created its own supply chain to ensure PPE is available.

Ehresmann discussed a recent report of 11 cases of severe lung injury with vaping-related conditions. Cases occurred in Minnesota between the ages of 14 and 16 in June and July.

Minnesota health official warns of 11 suspected vaping-related lung injuries

The patient was seeking care with similar symptoms associated with COVID-19, according to Ehresman. All patients had a history of vaping, mainly involving THC. Similar reports of lung damage were reported in California. Ehresmann also said that the problem was growing in 2019 and never went away.

Here are some other notes from the Friday briefing:

• MDH recognized fraudsters posing as departments and requested credit card information to distribute test kits to individuals. Mr. Ehresman emphasized that MDH will never do this.
• COVID-19 mortality in Minnesota ranges from 0.01% in the younger age group to 59.1% in the 100+ age group. Overall, mortality in cases is about 3.2%, and less than 1% by age 50, said Ehresman.