Thursday, June 10
The state has identified 603,305 cases of COVID-19 as of today, with 594,204 of these patients no longer required to be isolated. 7,484 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.
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At a glance
What you need to know this week:
- The Met Council is no longer requiring face coverings in our facilities, effective immediately.
- Previous limitations on work-related travel have been lifted.
- Managers and supervisors of teleworking employees are working with their teams to assess who may be interested in and suited to returning to onsite work on a limited basis through August. Teleworkers should talk with their managers to make any adjustments to work schedules and work locations.
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Guidance for returning teleworkers to onsite work will be specific to sites and business units and will be shared in the coming weeks.
- Reminder that we are now sending these COVID-19 email updates every other week.
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This month the state is running a vaccine incentive campaign, rewarding the first 100,000 Minnesotans who get their first shot by July 1.
- We are continuing to coordinate with state and county partners to make vaccine appointments directly available to our staff. Reach out to us if you need assistance making an appointment.
Read on for more about these updates.
Masks no longer mandatory for onsite employees
In response to updated guidance from state and federal agencies, the Met Council will no longer be requiring face coverings in our facilities effective immediately. Bus and rail operators will continue to adhere to the public transportation mask requirement from the federal government through Sept. 13.
Our incident command team is assessing how this guidance affects our emergency policies and procedures – including the Pandemic Preparedness Plan – and will be issuing updates in the coming days.
In the meantime, you may continue to wear a mask if you choose to. In addition, to protect yourself, you are encouraged to continue to wear a mask if you are unvaccinated, cannot be vaccinated, have people in your home who cannot be vaccinated, or otherwise you or members of your household are at risk.
Remember, when interacting with your colleagues, you should not assume anything about their vaccination status or health situation based on whether or not they are wearing a mask. Employees should never ask their co-workers about private, personal medical information, including their COVID-19 vaccination status. Be conscientious and respect individual privacy.
You should also continue these safety and health practices to prevent the spread of COVID-19 when onsite:
- Stay home if you’re sick.
- Practice social distancing when possible.
- Participate in health screening.
- Get tested if you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms or think you may have been exposed to COVID-19. Stay home if you tested positive for COVID-19.
- Wash your hands often.
- Clean your work space frequently.
This guidance is consistent with information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Minnesota Department of Health.
Work travel restrictions lifted
Previous limitations on work-related travel have been lifted. You should continue to coordinate travel needs as appropriate within your divisions. For other questions, connect with our Finance department.
To stay up to date on travel advice from public health officials, consult the Minnesota Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Teleworkers: Work with your managers on plans for returning onsite
Throughout the Met Council, managers and supervisors of teleworking employees are working with their teams to assess who may be interested in and suited to returning to onsite work on a limited basis through August.
Teleworkers should be talking with their managers to make any adjustments to work schedules and work locations. Each division will be submitting plans to leadership and then the Incident Command team for approval and to ensure technology resources and physical distancing in the workplace.
Planning Leads anticipate a small number of employees will return to the office this summer. Longer-term plans will be developed throughout the summer to phase in a more comprehensive return to onsite work this fall.
Protecting the health and safety of our entire workforce is our top priority. We will provide guidance on practices and expectations, especially protocols to ensure a healthy work environment for all onsite employees. More detailed, tailored guidance on these plans will be coming out in the coming weeks and will be determined by site-specific considerations.
Tools to help you find vaccination opportunities
As of Tuesday (June 8), 2,978,393 Minnesotans had received at least one vaccine dose and 2,696,380 people had completed the vaccine series. For up-to-date information on vaccine availability and distribution, visit the Minnesota Department of Health vaccine dashboard.
Our progress so far – and our path forward – relies on Minnesotans getting the vaccine. The vaccines are free, safe, and effective, and all Minnesotans age 12 and over can get one right now. Many sites are now offering walk-in appointments.
Check out these tools to find vaccine appointments:
If you still need a vaccine appointment, please email Lisa Belland at Lisa.Belland@metc.state.mn.us so we can make sure you receive notifications for available appointments through our county and state partners.
Important reminders related to the vaccine:
- For the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines to last longer and be most effective against variants, two shots are required. If you’ve missed your second dose for any reason, get it as soon as possible.
- It takes at least two weeks from the final vaccine dose to develop immunity.
- Even after you are fully vaccinated, you should continue to follow safety recommendations by public health officials and get tested if you are showing symptoms of COVID-19.
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Reminder: COVID-19 email updates now every other week
We are now sending these email updates every other week. If there is anything new to report between issues of this email, please check the MetNet home page story and FAQs for staff and managers. These pages will also be updated this month with more guidance for teleworkers and onsite employees.
We really appreciate the feedback, questions, and ideas employees have sent throughout the pandemic via the COVID-19 feedback form. In making this decision to cut back the frequency of these emails, we considered recent comments from staff as well as the condition of the pandemic and the requirements and guidelines coming from the state.
State's vaccination incentives continue through June 30
The state’s COVID-19 vaccine incentive campaign encourages Minnesotans to roll up their sleeves and get their COVID-19 vaccine this month. The campaign aims to get 70 percent of Minnesotans 16 years of age and older vaccinated by July 1.
The first 100,000 Minnesotans who get their first shot between May 27 and June 30 will be able to choose the reward of their preference from a wide-ranging list of options, including state parks passes, fishing licenses, and tickets to various summer attractions and events, including the Minnesota State Fair, the Minnesota Zoo, and Valleyfair. Learn more about the incentives at mn.gov/covid19/summer.
Continue testing to stop the spread of COVID-19
Anyone who is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms should immediately contact their health care provider and seek testing, regardless of their vaccination status. How to get a COVID-19 test:
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:
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:
We will update the FAQ pages on MetNet in the coming weeks to reflect updated guidance related to face coverings, work travel, returning teleworkers to onsite work, and more.
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:
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Councilwide |
| Active positive COVID-19 |
22 |
| Cumulative COVID-19 since onset |
537 |
Employees with positive COVID-19 diagnosis by division:
These division numbers are reported by Human Resources weekly. This table reflects changes since the last update email.
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Division
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New cases |
Total to date |
Returned to work |
Current active |
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CD
|
0 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
| ES |
0 |
82 |
80 |
2 |
| MT |
5 |
440 |
418 |
20 |
| MTS |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
| RA |
0 |
12 |
12 |
0
|
| Total |
5 |
537 |
513 |
22
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