Good Wednesday morning. Here’s your Digest:
1. Shortage of tests prompts rationing. The Minnesota Department of Health said Tuesday the state is tightening the criteria for COVID-19 testing amid a national shortage of testing materials. As the spread of the novel coronavirus continues — Minnesota announced 60 confirmed cases of the disease Tuesday morning — officials said the move will allow them to focus on highest-priority patients. Tests will be reserved mostly for the elderly, health care workers and people with underlying health conditions who are already hospitalized, as well as those who live in what health officials call “congregate living” situations, such as long-term care facilities or nursing homes. The Health Department said Tuesday that all other patients — those who have a fever, cough, shortness of breath and other symptoms associated with a possible COVID-19 infection — should self-quarantine and isolate themselves from others, even family, as much as possible. MPR News
2. Spike in unemployment claims. As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, all bars, restaurants and coffee shops in Minnesota are ordered to end dine-in service until at least March 27. The order signed by Gov. Tim Walz Monday also temporarily closes theaters, museums, gyms and other recreation venues. The move is expected to impact hundreds of thousands of workers, triggering the largest unemployment benefit payout in state history, Gov. Walz said. Virtually overnight, unemployment applications jumped from about 50 an hour to 2,000 an hour. MPR News
3. Pushback on bar and restaurant order. Some Minnesota lawmakers are asking DFL Gov. Tim Walz to reconsider his executive order that closes bars and restaurants in the state to slow the spread of COVID-19. They say the move will be devastating to small businesses. Sen. Roger Chamberlain, R-Lino Lakes, said he has heard directly from many concerned business owners who are wondering if they will be able to survive the closure. “One of the restaurants said, ‘we’ve separated our tables, we’re doing fine,’ Chamberlain said. “They’ve got no cases in their town, no cases in their cities. So, they’re wondering why do I have to close and maybe go out of business up here in the arrowhead or western Minnesota when nothing’s going on out here.” Other lawmakers expressed similar concerns. MPR News
4. Courts make changes to cut traffic. As efforts to fight the spread of the coronavirus, Minnesota's Judicial Branch this week announced some policy lenience designed to reduce nonessential visits to court facilities during the pandemic. For the next 30 days, the Judicial Branch will stop sending out late penalty notices and assessing the late penalties for all citations. For offenses eligible for drivers’ license suspension, the Judicial Branch will halt the automated process by which a person’s license is suspended for failure to appear. The Judicial Branch will also stop referring past-due payment cases to the Department of Revenue for collections for that period of time. Rochester Post Bulletin
5. DFL takes conventions online. Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party is moving all upcoming conventions online amid the COVID-19 outbreak. In a Tuesday, March 17 news release, the DFL Party announced that its executive committee made the decision Monday night not to hold in-person conventions, instead opting for an online balloting system, in order to comply with public health officials' recommendations to restrict group gatherings. The party will not hold local or congressional district conventions in person, and endorsement and resolution processes will instead be done through an online balloting system. Per the DFL's Tuesday's release, party officials have not yet made a decision on whether to hold the party's state convention scheduled to take place May 30 and 31 in Rochester. Bemidji Pioneer
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