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Dear Friends,
Governor Walz made news Wednesday when he announced a "Stay at Home" executive order for Minnesota. The governor also took executive action to extend closures for bars, restaurants, and other public accommodations until May 1, and continued remote learning for schools until May 4.
The "Stay at Home" order runs two weeks and puts limits on movement outside homes beyond essential trips. It takes effect tonight - Friday, March 27 at 11:59PM - and is set to end Friday, April 10.
The governor has indicated the goal is to delay the "peak" in total cases to allow Minnesota to improve hospital and ICU capacity, while also stockpiling personal protective equipment (PPE) for clinics and hospital workers. Numbers show the survival rate for severe cases is 10 times higher when patients have the required ICU care.
The order permits Minnesotans to leave their homes to perform the following activities: health/safety activities, outdoor activities, purchasing necessary supplies and services like groceries and medicine, essential and interstate travel, care of others, displacement, and relocation to ensure safety. This list does not include every exception, and social distancing should still be practiced while doing any of these activities.
Workers who provide critical services are also exempt for the purposes of traveling to their jobs. Some of these occupations include: healthcare and public health; law enforcement, public safety, and first responders; childcare, food, and agriculture; news media; energy, water and wastewater; and critical manufacturing. This is not an all-encompassing list, and you can visit https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/covid/business-exemptions/ for additional guidance. There is also a state email address that businesses can contact if they have questions: criticalsectors@state.mn.us.
If your business is currently considered non-essential, you can submit a request for an exemption from the "Stay at Home" order. Requests can be submitted to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development here.
I understand many of you have questions about what this means for your businesses and everyday lives. Check out the following link for the governor’s full order, which explains the details and provides answers to many of the questions you likely have: mnhouse.gop/EO_ShelterInPlace.
COVID-19 Response Legislation
Legislators at the state and federal levels have been working to provide assistance to families and businesses. Thursday, the legislature was called to St. Paul to pass additional COVID-19 emergency response legislation. The package of bills was remotely put together by lawmakers - from both parties and both legislative bodies - over the last week in order to continue the state's pandemic response efforts. The legislation was passed nearly unanimously in the House and Senate Thursday afternoon and will soon be signed by the governor.
The legislation authorizes up to $330.6 million to provide financial support for workers, businesses, and students being negatively impacted by emergency measures imposed to contain COVID-19. The package also includes multiple sunsets, reporting requirements, guardrails, and other accountability measures. This bill will help every Minnesotan and provides needed flexibility and assistance to small businesses and employees, childcare providers, veterans, farmers, and many others.
In these difficult times, I’m glad legislators came together to provide this emergency aid and help protect Minnesotans from this outbreak. I am hopeful this action will help ensure Minnesota has the necessary resources to continue responding to this outbreak and help those who are struggling and facing uncertainty. I will be ready to continue working in the coming weeks and months if the legislature must take additional action to help Minnesota families and businesses.
Abortion Clinics Exemption
During Thursday's session, I spoke about a concerning exemption in the governor’s executive actions. The governor has deemed abortion providers exempt from his executive order halting elective medical procedures. This takes critical resources away from doctors, nurses, and other first responders who are in need of personal protective equipment, like masks and gloves.
My colleagues and I are sending a letter to the governor urging him to fix this and secure these critical supplies for medical professionals caring for sick COVID-19 patients - rather than those performing abortions. You can watch a brief video of my message to the governor here.
Stay in Touch
As always, please reach out to me with any questions or concerns. You can reach me at rep.peggy.scott@house.mn or 651-296-4231.
Sincerely,
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