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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Kelly Morrison (DFL)

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Legislative Update- April 24, 2020

Friday, April 24, 2020

Rep. Morrison

 

Dear Neighbors,

This week, Governor Walz announced that Minnesota has made a significant breakthrough in the fight against COVID-19. Thanks to a partnership with Mayo Clinic, the University of Minnesota, and other health care providers, our state will have the capacity to test as many as 20,000 people per day. That means every Minnesotan with COVID-19 symptoms will be able to get tested.

 

testing breakthrough

 

Rapid, widespread testing will help us build a better picture of how COVID-19 is impacting our state. This is a vital step towards better controlling the virus and safely reopening our economy. You can read more about it here.

 


Governor’s Executive Order to Reopen Businesses

Yesterday, the Governor announced a framework via executive order, which provides a limited first step in the process of safely returning to work, beginning only with workers at non-Critical Sector industrial, manufacturing and office-based businesses that are non-customer facing. The executive order requires businesses to create and share a COVID-19 Preparedness Plan with employees, engages in health screenings of employees daily, and continuing to use telework when possible.

Governor Walz also shared a dial framework which takes into consideration several health, economic, and social factors – and applies them to a variety of settings that have varying levels of predictability and size considerations.

Adjusting the Dials

The executive order will allow approximately 20,000 businesses and roughly 80,000 – 100,000 workers to go back to work beginning on Monday, April 27.


Minnesota School Buildings will Remain Closed

The Governor also announced yesterday that distance learning will remain in place for the rest of the school year. These are difficult times, but we are thankful that Governor Walz’s top priority is the safety of all Minnesotans. A big shout out to our communities’ teachers and families for their dedication to our students’ success.


Earth Day

Wednesday marked the fiftieth anniversary of Earth Day. As we pull together to get through the COVID-19 pandemic, we cannot ignore the need to protect our planet. Let’s be the generation that combats climate change and protects and preserves our magnificent home! I’m working on these efforts in Minnesota as a member of the House Climate Action Caucus.

Earth Day


Statewide Mask Drive

Governor Walz recently launched a homemade mask drive. He encouraged Minnesotans to make homemade masks and deliver them to their local fire department on Saturday, April 25 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fire departments will deliver the masks to local congregate living facilities.

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Homemade masks don’t replace personal protective equipment (PPE), but they help limit the spread of the virus. If you’d like to participate in the mask drive, patterns and instructions are available here.


Save the Date!

I’ll be hosting my next virtual town hall meeting on Saturday, May 2 at 2:00 p.m. We’ll be using the platform Zoom this time. Here are the details:

Access the meeting here: https://tinyurl.com/yd9n4xft

Meeting ID: 540 856 5177

Password: 630797

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Stay in Touch

I’ll continue to reach out with additional updates as I receive them. Please don’t hesitate to contact me anytime with questions or input. I appreciate hearing from you.

You can follow me on my official Facebook page for additional updates and news.

Thank you for the honor of representing our communities at the state legislature.

Take good care,

Kelly