Updated 12 p.m.
Minnesota health officials say 143 people have now died from COVID-19, up nine from Sunday, while the number of people in intensive care rose by 10 to 126.
Gov. Tim Walz and state health leaders are expected to brief reporters at 2 p.m. on the latest efforts to control the spread of the disease so it doesn’t overwhelm the health care system.
The latest numbers come as cases in southwestern Minnesota’s Nobles County surged from 36 on Saturday to 60 on Sunday to 76 on Monday.
The JBS pork processing plant in Worthington is at the center of that outbreak, with more than two dozen employees testing positive for COVID-19. On Monday morning, company executives announced they were indefinitely shutting the plant, which employs some 2,000 workers, to try and get control of the situation.
“We don’t make this decision lightly,” Bob Krebs, president of JBS USA Pork, said in a statement. “We recognize JBS Worthington is critical to local hog producers, the U.S. food supply and the many businesses that support the facility each and every day.”
JBS says it will continue to pay its employees during the plant closure.
Confirmed cases of COVID-19 continued to increase in the Sioux Falls, S.D., area, with more than 1,300 total cases reported in Minnehaha County as of Sunday. The now-closed Smithfield pork processing plant in Sioux Falls, about an hour’s drive from Worthington, has been a national hot spot for coronavirus, with more than 600 employees testing positive.
State health officials have said there are families of workers employed at both the Smithfield and JBS plants.
Health data experts continue to caution that the total cases identified in Minnesota are only a sliver of those carrying the coronavirus, which causes COVID-19.
Beyond the updates on deaths and cases, the Health Department on Monday also reported:
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The youngest person in intensive care is 20 years old. For weeks it had been 25. The age range of deaths is still 56 to 104 years old.
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77 of 87 Minnesota counties now have at least one confirmed COVID-19 case. Chippewa is now on the list.
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Nearly 47,000 tests have been conducted in Minnesota, with 1,134 reported Monday. That’s still below the 5,000 a day Walz says is needed by May 4, when his stay-at-home order is set to expire.
Including the outbreak of cases tied to the JBS plant, Nobles County now has the largest outbreak in Minnesota outside the Twin Cities area and Rochester. It has the highest rate of COVID-19 cases of any county relative to its population.
Developments from around the state
Golf courses, marinas reopen in Minnesota
Golf courses, outdoor shooting ranges, bait shops and marinas were allowed to reopen over the weekend in Minnesota, following Gov. Tim Walz’s decision to ease COVID-19 stay-at-home restrictions.
Customers and employees of those businesses still must comply with social distancing rules.
Cindy Bisek owns and operates the Red Wing Marina along the Mississippi River. She said Saturday that people are already looking to put boats in the water.
“I think everyone is just chomping at the bit to get outside and enjoy being outside. And obviously, if you have boat in the water, that’s one place where you can be somewhat quarantined with your family,” she said.
Ramsey County opened two golf courses Saturday, and expects to open three more by Wednesday. Driving ranges are opening, too.
Mark McCabe is Ramsey County’s parks and recreation director. He said there are many precautions in place to keep people a safe distance apart.
“We are spacing out tee times, with a minimum of 10 minutes between each tee time. Our clubhouses are not open. We will allow one rider per golf cart,” he said.
Golf carts, golf balls and flag sticks will be regularly sanitized. Multiple riders will be allowed on golf carts only if the players are from the same household.
Prohibitions continue on camping and some other outdoor activities.
— Martin Moylan | MPR News
Some seasonal property owners disobeying stay-at-home order
Earlier this month the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office offered to check on seasonal properties, if owners stayed away while the state is under a stay-at-home order because of COVID-19.
Sheriff Barry Fitzgibbons said a few people have taken the county up on the offer. Deputies have checked about 20 homes so far out of an estimated 8,000 seasonal properties in the county.
But he said many seasonal residents are returning.
“Whether it’s to check on it as a result of it being vacant all winter, or to just spend some time up here away from the metro or wherever they’re from, I think that is happening,” he said.
Fitzgibbons said local health systems are concerned they won’t be able to handle the influx of seasonal residents if those visitors become ill with COVID-19.
He noted that the county economy is dependent on those seasonal property owners.
“It’s part of what makes Otter Tail so great. But the message coming from the CDC and public health is just hold off for now,” he said. “And once this epidemic passes we encourage you to come up and stay a long time.”
— Dan Gunderson | MPR News
Top headlines
Pathway to reopening Minnesota should get clearer this week: Gov. Tim Walz and his administration have been consulting with businesses about safety protocols to resume activity without heightening the coronavirus risk. There’s still two weeks to go on the current stay-at-home order.
Small businesses race to get financial help amid pandemic — but will it be enough to survive? Small businesses across Minnesota have been approved for $9 billion dollars in paycheck protection plan loans. Now, they’re trying to figure out how they can best use the money to try to survive the COVID-19 crisis.
Officials say at least 26 workers at SW Minnesota pork processing plant have COVID-19: Minnesota health officials said Sunday that more than two dozen employees of the JBS pork processing plant in Worthington have tested positive for COVID-19.
Residents moved from Wayzata assisted living facility amid outbreak of COVID-19: More than 40 residents of a Wayzata, Minn., assisted living facility were moved to other facilities Saturday amid an outbreak of COVID-19 affecting residents and staff members.
Twins ‘Homer Hankies’ to be used to make thousands of face masks: Minnesota Twins “Homer Hankies” left over from the 2019 season now are being used to make thousands of face masks.
COVID-19 in Minnesota
Health officials for weeks have been increasingly raising the alarm over the spread of the novel coronavirus in the United States. The disease is transmitted through respiratory droplets, coughs and sneezes, similar to the way the flu can spread.
Government and medical leaders are urging people to wash their hands frequently and well, refrain from touching their faces, cover their coughs, disinfect surfaces and avoid large crowds, all in an effort to curb the virus’ rapid spread.
The state of Minnesota has temporarily closed schools, while administrators work to determine next steps, and is requiring a temporary closure of all in-person dining at restaurants, bars and coffee shops, as well as theaters, gyms, yoga studios and other spaces in which people congregate in close proximity.
