Gov. Tim Walz | Facebook
Gov. Tim Walz | Facebook
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz issued a two-week stay-at-home order for all Minnesotans, closing all non-essential businesses, industries and services.
GOP lawmakers say it’s important to balance the health of the state’s people, with the health of the state’s economy.
“We are putting the health of the people of Minnesota first while also prioritizing ways we can still keep #mnleg business going to make sure the issues we have heard so much about from our constituents are addressed and worked on,” Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka wrote on Twitter.
The stay-at-home order went into effect March 27 and runs through April 10. There are some exceptions – for essential activities, health and safety, to obtain necessary supplies and services, essential travel, outdoor activities, care of others, as long as those activities can be done maintaining social distance guidelines. All non-essential businesses and industries were ordered closed.
Gazelka said it was important to remember people will need jobs to go back to.
“I share the governor’s concerns about the safety and well-being of all Minnesotans. I also have grave concerns about his statewide stay-at-home order, and the consequences for families when their jobs and businesses that provide their livelihood are lost,” he tweeted.
Other GOP lawmakers echoed those concerns, including Rep. Mary Franson, who tweeted on March 24, “We have to flatten the curve without flattening the economy. The decision to close down businesses has a rippling effect so many people are more anxious about their financial well-being than the actual virus.”
As of March 29, the State of Minnesota reported 503 positive tests have come back from patients believed to be suffering from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Nine people have died from the illness. About 252 people have recovered to the point they no longer need to be isolated, and about half of the people who have be hospitalized have been sent home. About 40 people remain in hospital across the state as of March 29.
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