Minneapolis Star Tribune, April 10
First responders deserve new protections
First responders who get COVID-19 in Minnesota will receive workers’ compensation.
Bravo to the Minnesota Legislature for acting nearly unanimously to allow first responders to get workers’ compensation in the event they contract COVID-19.
Health care workers, nurses, police, firefighters, child care providers and others who are being asked to risk their health to provide essential services deserve this protection. Thanks to the bill, those who contract COVID-19 will be presumed to have gotten it at work rather than having to prove they contracted the disease on the job.
There has been much praise for first responders during the pandemic, and deservedly so. But it’s important to back up that thanks and praise with something more tangible. Financial assistance in the event an illness that has sent most of society into hiding fits that bill.
It was gratifying to see unanimous passage in the Senate and near-unanimous support in the House. It’s not all that should be done for first responders, but as Sen. Jeremy Miller, R-Winona, said, “These workers on the front lines will have one less thing to worry about.”
Those seeking workers’ compensation under the bill will need to provide lab results showing they have COVID-19 or provide documentation of a diagnosis from a licensed health care practitioner - yet another reason why more widespread testing is needed.
There had been an attempt get the protections built into the $330 million COVID-19 response package adopted in late March. Unfortunately, that effort faltered in the face of opposition from some business groups and Senate Republicans. Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-East Gull Lake, said at the time that support would be contingent on full backing from the Workers’ Compensation Advisory Council, made up of business and labor representatives.
However - and this is important - all sides persevered. Productive negotiations, stripped of partisan rancor, resulted in a strong coalition, though concerns about cost remain. Those concerns are valid. Projections put the cost at $300 million or more.
Lawmakers have said they will continue to pursue funding sources, and the federal government does have money to help with such expenses. But these are extraordinary circumstances. Concerns about future costs or the state workers’ compensation fund do not override the need to extend a cushion for those who are exposing themselves daily to possible disease.
“We do not want to be in a situation where people feel like they can’t risk their financial future by continuing to serve us,” said House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, DFL-Golden Valley, in supporting the bill.
The infection rate among first responders in Minnesota has so far been low, thankfully. Let’s hope it remains so. But now those who do fall ill will know that the state has their back.
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The Free Press of Mankato, April 13
Chalk artwork a needed day brightener
Why it matters: Children and their embrace of the good stuff in the world can teach us how to deal with the virus outbreak.
Chalk it up to children to find a way to coax sunshine out of a cloud of gloom.
Look down when you walk around town and their chalk messages will pick you up like finding a $5 bill in a pile of leaves wedged against a curb.
“Spread the Rainbow” arched over a rainbow, an enthusiastic “You can do this!” and a drawing that shows two neighbors waving hello with a 6-foot line measuring the distance between them are among just a few of the creative chalk messages that have popped up in our community, likely courtesy of children and their parents.
Younger kids probably aren’t paying attention to news reports about COVID-19 death rates, but they pick up on adult stress vibes easily and also have had to drastically change their routines. They can’t see their friends, they can’t play on public playgrounds, they can’t visit grandparents, they can’t go to school - the list goes on and on.
Taking to the outdoors with sidewalk chalk, though, is not just something fun for kids to do; it’s inspirational for adults to run across as they try to get fresh air and exercise during this ongoing pandemic. One sidewalk even offered a cardiac challenge: a 50-square hopscotch.
Just as thoughts of work or no work, the status of loved ones, and the long-term effects of the outbreak percolate, you look down and it’s as if a gift has surfaced there.
Let’s all adapt the attitude of hope that so many have taken to the streets with. Encourage each other, help out, be good listeners and remember to laugh. Maybe this chalk riddle found on a park path will help: “Why did the student eat her homework?” Answer: “Because Mom said it was a piece of cake.”
Everyone needs a dose of sunshine and silliness, so embrace it when you find it during these tough days.
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St. Cloud Times, April 10
Walz’s latest order allows many businesses to start back up amid COVID-19
Days before his initial stay-at-home order was to expire Friday, Gov. Tim Walz made it clear there would be no going back just yet. However, would Minnesotans face more, the same or fewer restrictions in the state’s battle against COVID-19?
His decision midweek to extend the stay-home order to May 4 - on the surface - seems to say “the same,” especially about gathering in groups.
A thorough review, though, of the state’s additional Executive Order 20-33 Critical Sector Descriptions, also issued Wednesday, shows the Walz administration is taking a reasonable approach in trying to allow more businesses and industries to gradually restart operations without risking massive spread of COVID-19.
Look no further than the order’s freshly added opening description of the 35 critical sectors detailed in the 18 pages. It reads:
MINIMUM BASIC OPERATIONS
- Workers supporting minimum basic operations in all businesses and other organizations.
- Minimum basic operations include:
Minimum necessary activities to maintain the value of the business’ inventory, preserve the condition of a business’s or other organization’s facilities, physical plant, or equipment, ensure security, process payroll and employee benefits, or for related functions; and
Minimum necessary activities to facilitate remote work by workers from their residences. …
From there, the order highlights dozens of types businesses and public-sector operations that are now allowed to begin resuming operations at their respective locations if necessary.
It’s worth a read, especially for those claiming government is trying to stifle business. Here is the link: https://bit.ly/3c72eHe.
In fact, the governor’s changes announced Wednesday now mean 82% of jobs in Minnesota are in critical sectors, excluding self-employed workers, independent contractors and business owners. That’s up from 78% under the original order.
To be clear, the order is about minimum operations that can be conducted safely (think social distancing, cleanliness, etc.) and by no means is it a call for a full-scale return to business as usual. Any worker who can work from home is required to do so.
But the intent seems clear - a gradual restart of the state’s economic engines.
For example, the following new language now guides who can return to - and, again, work safely - in “commercial facilities/essential supply stores:”
- Workers supporting e-commerce through distribution, warehouse, call center facilities, and other essential operational support functions.
- Workers in hardware and building materials stores, consumer electronics, technology and appliances retail, and related merchant wholesalers and distributors – with reduced staff to ensure continued operations.
- Workers distributing, servicing, repairing, installing residential and commercial HVAC systems, boilers, furnaces and other heating, cooling, refrigeration, and ventilation equipment.
- Workers critical to maintaining and securing our food supply, including grocers, suppliers, distributors, farmers and food preparation companies.
- Workers necessary for operation of commercial and retail stores that supply essential sectors, including convenience stores, pet supply stores, auto supplies and repair, hardware and home improvement, and home appliance retailers.
To repeat: All those are positions added or modified Wednesday. And they are just a few of many jobs being allowed to resume.
The governor did not, however, lift the closure order for bars, dine-in service at restaurants, entertainment venues, health clubs, salons and essentially any business built on bringing people together or involving face-to-face interactions between workers and customers.
While difficult, that approach makes sense knowing the state’s strategy for battling the new coronavirus is to minimize its spread and delay its peak so the health care system can avoid being overwhelmed by COVID-19 victims.
That approach also demands lawmakers, should they decide to craft more aid packages, put top priority on helping the idled workers and shuttered businesses in those sectors.
Overall, there is no denying the Walz administration’s approach to fighting COVID-19 deliberately shifted Minnesota’s economy from forward to neutral or even reverse - in the name of saving lives.
The governor’s moves Wednesday seek to at least stem economic backsliding while still protecting public health. Let’s hope this reasonable two-pronged approach helps on both fronts until at least May 4.
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