Legislative Update: New Measures for Skyrocketing COVID Cases

Dear Neighbors, 

I want to thank you for the continued honor of representing our community in the Minnesota House of Representatives. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but I have no doubt we can see through these difficult times by working together. 

Today’s update is largely focused on Minnesota’s latest efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19, with the recent surge of cases threatening to overwhelm hospitals throughout the state, and the increased testing options available to Minnesotans. Though the promising news of effective vaccines gives us a great deal of long-awaited hope, the logistics behind vaccine production and delivery show that we’ll need to continue and indeed double down on our efforts to keep our community healthy for the foreseeable future.

New COVID-19 Restrictions

This evening, to help curb the spread of COVID-19, Governor Walz announced the return to the following public health guidelines:

• Minnesotans are being asked to stay home when possible, avoiding gatherings with people outside of their household. 

• Restaurants and bars are dialed back to delivery and takeout only. Gyms and fitness studios will close. Entertainment venues, event spaces, and similar establishments will also close.

• Youth sports are on pause. Sports-related cases are nearly twice as prevalent among high school-age children as any other age groups and they increasingly play a key role in the need to move schools to distance learning.

The return to these restrictions was not a decision that was made lightly, but in following the advice of public health professionals, this is what needs to be done to better ensure our community stays healthy. The alternative is a system where Minnesota’s hospitals are overrun, and all medical emergencies are put at risk. I echo the sentiments shared by my legislative colleague, Dr. Alice Mann, which you can listen to here.

You can read more about these new measures here. 

How To Get Tested

Additional locations and different forms of COVID testing are now available in Minnesota, including a test at home option. For the nearest test site, or to see what testing option is best for you, visit the Minnesota Department of Health’s website, here.

Stay Connected

The 2021 Legislative Session will begin in January, and though we’ll have a final special session in December, we’ll quickly get to the work of building on Minnesota’s continued response to the pandemic and its economic impact on our state. 

You can stay up to date on our work by subscribing to these legislative updates, “liking” my official Facebook page, and following me on Twitter. For any questions you have on the resources available to our community or our work in the Minnesota House, feel free to contact me at (651) 296-0171 or rep.todd.lippert@house.mn. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely, 

Todd Lippert