Thursday, March 25
The state has identified 510,398 cases of COVID-19 as of today, with 492,058 of these patients no longer required to be isolated. 6,814 deaths have been reported. For more information on the current situation, visit the Minnesota Department of Health website.
At the bottom of this email, you will find Met Council workforce statistics related to COVID-19 leave that have been reported to the Employee Resource Center.
Do you have thoughts or concerns on the content or frequency of these COVID-19 update emails? We would love to hear your feedback through the online COVID-19 form, so we can make sure these emails are providing the most useful and timely information to staff.
|
At a glance
What you need to know this week:
Read on for more about these updates.
Minnesota planning major expansion of vaccine doses
On Friday, Gov. Tim Walz is expected to announce an expansion of COVID-19 vaccination to all state residents age 16 and older beginning next week.
Stay tuned as we receive more information and better understand what this means for our employees.
Don't ease up; stay vigilant to stop the spread of COVID-19
As encouraging as the vaccination numbers are, we need to remember that we have a state population of 5.5 million and most Minnesotans are not yet fully vaccinated. Millions of Minnesotans are still susceptible to COVID-19 infection and the health impacts that can go with it.
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) stresses that we all should continue to take steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19: wear a mask, stay six feet from others, avoid gatherings, wash your hands often, and stay home if you feel sick or have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19.
At the Met Council, policies on physical distancing, wearing face coverings, and staying home if you experience symptoms have not changed.
Variants are shown to be more contagious
Multiple COVID-19 variants are circulating globally, and the variants first detected in the United Kingdom, Brazil, and South Africa have all been identified in Minnesota. Early data shows that the United Kingdom variant – the one most common in Minnesota – spreads more easily and can be as much as 50% more contagious than the original virus. There is also concern this variant may be associated with more severe disease compared to other variants. More research is needed to confirm these findings and what it will mean for vaccination efforts. Read more about the variants on CDC.gov.
Because variants can spread more easily, it is important to get tested. MDH is recommending these testing guidelines for kids and families: families with school-age children returning to in-person learning should get tested every two weeks, and kids involved in sports or after-school activities should get tested once a week.
Recommendations for fully vaccinated people
It is up to all of us to protect ourselves and others by getting vaccinated and following recommendations to slow the spread of COVID-19. Even if you are fully vaccinated (two weeks after your final dose), it is important to follow precautions:
- Continue to wear a mask that fits well and stay at least 6 feet away from other people whenever you are:
- In public.
- Visiting with unvaccinated people from multiple households.
- Wash your hands often.
- Stay home if you are sick, especially if you have been around someone who has COVID-19. If you have symptoms of COVID-19, you should get tested.
- Avoid crowds and poorly ventilated spaces.
- Delay unnecessary domestic or international travel. If you do travel, you’ll still need to follow CDC requirements and recommendations.
- Follow guidance specific to your workplace.
For more recommendations on gatherings and quarantine for fully vaccinated people, visit the MDH website.
Connecting staff to opportunities for the vaccine
The Met Council continues to help our staff who are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Public transit workers are among those frontline staff who are currently eligible, along with a number of other categories.
With the announcement of expanded vaccination eligibility expected from the Governor on March 26, we will update our employees as soon as we have information on new opportunities.
As of Tuesday (March 23), 1,475,130 Minnesotans had received at least one vaccine dose and 878,469 people had completed the vaccine series. For up-to-date information on vaccine availability and distribution, visit the Minnesota Department of Health vaccine dashboard.
Availability for Veterans and family through the VA
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is working to provide COVID-19 vaccines to eligible Veterans, spouses, and caregivers. Learn more and sign up online at VA.gov or call the Minneapolis VA at 612-467-1991 to discuss eligibility and enrollment.
Frontline Transit workers eligible at Mall of America
Frontline Transit employees are eligible to be vaccinated at the state-run clinic at the Mall of America. If you received an invitation from Homeland Health by text and/or email, those are legitimate messages providing you access to the vaccine if you choose. Please respond to arrange an appointment time to get your vaccine.
Notifying eligible Met Council staff of urgent vaccine availability
When partners contact the Met Council letting us know about extra doses they have of the COVID-19 vaccine, we are using our emergency notification system to ask employees who are eligible (as defined by the state's criteria) if they are available immediately to receive the vaccine. We will notify you by texting your mobile device, calling you by phone, and sending a message to your email. If you respond that you are available, we will follow up to connect you to the appointment. The system uses contact information from Employee Self Service, so it’s very important that your contact information there is up to date. Review the full information about these notifications in the announcement on MetNet.
What you can do now:
- If you haven't already, sign up for the state Vaccine Connector to receive an alert when you are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccination, connect to resources to schedule an appointment, and find vaccination opportunities in your area. The tool is available to all Minnesotans age 18 and older and only takes a few minutes to complete. You can also call 833.431.2053 (toll free) for assistance signing up over the phone.
- If you are eligible to be vaccinated:
- Contact your regular health care provider to check if you can get a vaccination appointment.
- Check the Vaccine Locator map to find nearby vaccine distribution sites; you may be able to make an appointment to receive a vaccine through the providers listed there.
- Make an appointment through the Community Vaccination Program if you are in one of the qualifying groups.
- If you have a HealthPartners medical plan, make sure your contact information in your account is up to date. HealthPartners is contacting eligible patients to schedule a vaccination when they have appointments available. Learn more on the HealthPartners website.
-
Review the information on MetNet about how to respond if you receive an alert through the Met Council's emergency notification system asking if you are available immediately to receive the vaccine.
If you are eligible to get vaccinated right now, you do not have to wait for information from the Minnesota COVID-19 Vaccine Connector or the Met Council's emergency notification system before getting your shot. If your health care provider contacts you about making an appointment, or if you have another opportunity to get vaccinated, you can and should do that.
For more information about the vaccine and how to find an appointment, visit the Minnesota Department of Health vaccine site.
|
In case you missed it: Teleworking to continue, but transition plans will emerge
Gov. Tim Walz has updated guidance about remote work to allow for teleworkers to return to onsite, office work. Met Council employees who can work from home will continue to do so through the end of the school year in June and, for many, through at least Labor Day. Managers will be engaging with staff and informing the Planning Leads to determine the best working arrangements for both employees and the business needs of the work area. Employee input will be a part of the planning process and inform the overall plan and future telework policy.
Review the full details shared in last week’s all-staff COVID-19 email about planning for a phased return to worksites for teleworking employees.
Moving forward, look for more information about our planning for the phased return to onsite work in this all-staff email and on MetNet.
Final reminder: Healthcare and daycare FSA changes allowed through March 31
Right now Met Council employees are allowed to change their 2021 healthcare and/or daycare flexible spending account (FSA) election amount(s), without a qualified family status change, for a limited time. Contribution changes made during this special enrollment period will be reflected on the second paycheck in April. This is not an opportunity to newly elect an FSA.
Temporary changes include:
- Unlimited rollover of 2020 healthcare and daycare FSA dollars for use in 2021. (Previously no daycare rollover has been allowed, and healthcare rollover was allowed up to $550.)
- Prospective increase or decrease in healthcare and daycare FSA elections for 2021 allowed without a qualifying status change.
- Increase in the age limit for daycare FSA from age 12 to 13.
Review the full details and instructions on MetNet.
If you wish to change your 2021 FSA election, please email Benefits@metc.state.mn.us between March 15 and March 31 and include your employee ID number and the amount you wish to change your 2021 healthcare and/or daycare FSA annual election(s) to.
Check the MetNet pages, FAQs
For the most current information related to the COVID-19 outbreak, visit the MetNet page and be sure to review the FAQs for staff and managers. They are updated as we have new information to communicate.
For Metro Transit work instructions and daily updates on new COVID-19 cases reported at each worksite, visit the Metro Transit MetNet page. For job aids and facilities updates for Environmental Services related to COVID-19, visit the Environmental Services page.
If you have questions, talk to your manager or supervisor or submit a question or concern in the online COVID-19 form.
Check out the latest issues of our internal newsletters: March 19 Insights, March 23 Wire, and March 25 HR Connect.
For those who cannot easily access MetNet and/or would like a printable PDF of the FAQs, here are the most recent versions of these pages:
Met Council workforce statistics
The following statistics related to COVID-19 have been reported to the Employee Resource Center. The "active positive COVID-19" number is the number of employees who currently have a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. The "cumulative" number marks the total number of employees who received a positive COVID-19 diagnosis since the pandemic began. The second table breaks down the positive cases by division for Community Development (CD), Environmental Services (ES), Metro Transit (MT), Metropolitan Transportation Services (MTS), and Regional Administration (RA).
Employees with positive COVID-19 diagnosis (March 25):
Employees with positive COVID-19 diagnosis by division (March 25*):
*These division numbers are reported weekly. These tables reflect changes week over week.
 
| 
