MDH Cultural and Faith Communities COVID-19 Update 5/11/20

Minnesota Department of Health sent this bulletin at 05/11/2020 12:59 PM CDT
Minnesota Department of Health

Cultural and Faith Communities Update on COVID-19

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May 11, 2020

The Cultural and Faith Communities COVID-19 Update is being sent to the following three MDH mailing lists to reduce duplication:

  • Cultural and Faith Communities COVID-19 Updates
  • MN Immigrant and Refugee Health Announcements
  • The Center for Health Equity

Today's COVID-19 updates include:

Status of COVID-19 in Minnesota

Updated May 11, 2020

  • Total positive: 11,799
  • Patients who no longer need to be isolated: 7,536
  • Total approximate number of completed tests: 115,781
  • Deaths: 591
    o Deaths among cases that resided in long-term care or assisted living facilities: 472
  • Total cases requiring hospitalization: 1,716
    o Hospitalized as of today: 452
    o Hospitalized in ICU as of today: 194

Numbers are cumulative since Jan. 20, 2020.

The number of lab-confirmed positive tests among Minnesota residents will be updated daily on Situation Update for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) with test results from the previous day. The page also includes a map of counties with confirmed cases, and more.

This total reflects only the results from laboratory testing. There are more cases in Minnesota, and the virus is circulating in communities. It is important for everyone to follow advice on community mitigation and social distancing to help us flatten the case curve.

Governor has launched a public dashboard which includes race data of cases: Minnesota COVID-19 Public Dashboard.

Updated MDH Guidance

CDC Resources on COVID-19

These resources are available on the CDC Print Resource Page in following 21 languages:

  • Amharic, Arabic, Burmese, Dari, Farsi, French, Haitian Creole, Karen, Kinyarwanda, Korean, Nepali, Pashto, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Swahili, Tagalog, Tigrinya, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.

Resource Guide for Workers in the Processing and Manufacturing Industries

The Department of Employment and Economic Development has created a Resource Guide for Workers in the Processing and Manufacturing Industries for those in the Processing and Manufacturing Industries that is currently available in English, Amharic, Anuak, Cambodian, Chuukese, Hmong, Karen, Karenni, Lao, Mam, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Thai, Tigrinya, and Vietnamese. This guide includes resources from various agencies available to workers.

COVID-19 - Care For The Uninsured

Minnesota DHS Announces Medical Assistance for COVID-19 Testing of Uninsured Individuals

The Department of Human Services (DHS) announced Medical Assistance (MA) coverage of COVID-19 testing during the peacetime emergency for individuals who are uninsured.
The DHS bulletin on Testing for Uninsured Individuals provides the eligibility criteria, covered benefits and the application form and process that is effective May 1, 2020, for MA coverage of COVID-19 testing for uninsured individuals.

 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Announces Additional Allocations of CARES Act Provider Relief Fund

As announced in early April, a portion of the $100 billion Provider Relief Fund will be used to reimburse healthcare providers, at Medicare rates, for COVID-related treatment of the uninsured.

Every health care provider who has provided treatment for uninsured COVID-19 patients on or after February 4, 2020, can request claims reimbursement through the program and will be reimbursed at Medicare rates, subject to available funding.

Steps will involve: enrolling as a provider participant, checking patient eligibility and benefits, submitting patient information, submitting claims, and receiving payment via direct deposit.

Registration for Providers for the program opened on April 27, 2020. Providers can begin submitting claims in early May 2020 after completing registration.

For more information, visit coviduninsuredclaim.hrsa.gov.

Other Updates

Refugee and Immigrant Briefing

The Resettlement Programs Office at Department of Human Services is cohosting a refugee and immigrant briefing with the Bhutanese Community of Minnesota this Monday, May 11 at 4:30 p.m.

State leaders from Minnesota Department of Health, Department of Education and Department of Employment and Economic Development will be sharing information regarding COVID 19 health, education and employment concerns and answering questions on the call. The call will be in Nepali with questions and answers in English and Nepali. 

Please join Refugee and Immigrant briefing via Webex. 

Phone call: 415-655-0003
Meeting number (access code): 960 077 474

Protecting Minnesota’s Long-Term Care Residents, Workers

Governor Walz unveiled a new statewide five-point plan to provide more robust support to long-term care (LTC) facilities on 5/7/2020. LTC facilities face a special set of risks during the COVID-19 pandemic: residents are older and have more underlying medical conditions and congregate settings lead to closer contact with more people. It’s imperative that we work together to protect residents and workers.

This new plan will ramp up the support and coordination around the following areas:

  1. Expand testing for residents and workers in long-term care facilities.
  2. Provide testing support and troubleshooting to clear barriers faster.
  3. Get personal protective equipment to facilities when needed.
  4. Ensure adequate staffing levels for even the hardest-hit facilities.
  5. Leverage our partnerships to better apply their skills and talents.

Learn more about the plan:

COVID-19 Translated Resources Directory

The Washington State Department of Social and Health Services has created a COVID-19 translated resources directory. This directory is a list of translated COVID-19 health education resources (fact sheets, flyers, posters, audio recordings, videos, etc.), organized in alphabetical order by language. The translated materials are from United States government entities, International non-government agencies, community based organizations, and selective countries outside the United States. The directory is not inclusive of all the translated materials available and will be updated on a regular basis.

Webinar: COVID-19 and the Impact on Communities of Color: Our Nation’s Inequities Exposed

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Central

The webinar will highlight the disproportionate health and economic impacts the pandemic is having on communities of color and the short- and long-term efforts needed to advance equity in the response to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and future public health emergencies. There will also be a focus on recent federal legislation and state actions in response to COVID-19.

Please join this webinar hosted by Trust for America’s Health with an expert panel discussion and time for audience Q&A.  

This event is recommended for anyone working in public health, health care, policy and advocacy, health equity, civil rights, community-based organizations, social determinants of health, and local and state health officials. 

COVID-19 and the Impact on Communities of Color Webinar Registration is free and closed captioning is available to all attendees.

Grants / Funding

COVID–19 Health Care Response Grant

In mid-March, Minnesota lawmakers passed an emergency law authorizing $200 million in grant funding to support eligible health care organizations in covering their costs related to planning for, preparing for, or responding to the outbreak of COVID–19. The first $50 million COVID–19 Short Term Emergency Funding was awarded on April 8th. An additional $150 million in grant funding will be dispersed through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process.

The RFP and electronic application forms for COVID-19 Healthcare Response Grant are available online.

Reminders

Stay at Home Extension

COVID-19 Updates from Governor Walz and Lt. Governor Flanagan

As the state continues to make progress in preparing for the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Tim Walz extended the Stay Home Order in Minnesota until Monday, May 18. By extending the Stay Home Order, the Governor said the state will: slow the spread of COVID-19 and slowly build herd immunity; protect those working on the frontlines by increasing access to personal protective equipment; ensure our health care system has the capacity to care for all patients; gradually allow more Minnesotans to return to work; and safely and slowly resume in-person contacts and other activities that are critical for our well-being.

In an effort to get more Minnesotans back safely to work while the order remains in effect, the Governor announced that retail businesses and other non-critical businesses will resume operations with curbside pick-up starting May 4, 2020. This will put up to 30,000 Minnesotans back to work in a safe, coordinated way.

Businesses must:

  • Develop and publicly post a plan for how to open safely.
  • Use online payment whenever possible.
  • Employees and customers should wear masks and protective equipment.
  • In curbside pick-up scenarios, social distancing guidelines apply. If possible, customers should not leave their vehicle.
  • In delivery scenarios, items should be deposited outside a customer’s residence.

Also as part of his Executive Order, Governor Walz strongly encouraged all Minnesotans to continue to telework whenever possible, wear face masks in public, screen for symptoms and regularly check their temperature, and maintain physical distance from each other. For more information:

Discrimination Hotline graphic

Discrimination Helpline

This helpline reinforces the state’s efforts to protect the civil rights of Minnesotans. It allows those who experience or witness bias and discrimination to report incidents to the Minnesota Department of Human Rights.

The creation of the Discrimination Helpline comes at a time when there's continued reports from Asian American community members who are experiencing heightened fear and backlash due to COVID-19. One of the disconcerting aspects of the COVID-19 crisis is the continued rise of xenophobia and racism. 

Every Minnesotan can call the Discrimination Helpline at 1-833-454-0148 or complete and submit the Discrimination Reporting online form. The helpline is staffed Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Interpreters are available. 

COVID-19 Public Hotline

Questions about COVID-19?

Health questions:
651-201-3920 or 1-800-657-3903, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Schools and child care questions:
651-297-1304 or 1-800-657-3504, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m on Weekdays and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Weekends.

If you've been forwarded this email and would like to receive these updates directly, sign up here: Subscribe to Cultural and Faith Communities COVID-19 Updates.