The first week in June marks a shift in state’s fight against COVID-19… as some businesses begin to re-open after months of state ordered closures

 

Marie: From Minnesota Native News… this is a COVID-19 Daily Update. 

MARIE:  I’m Marie Rock. 

The first week in June marks a shift in our state’s fight against COVID-19… as some businesses begin to re-open after months of state ordered closures.

And… during the first week in June…. thousands of people poured into the streets across the state…. To protest the death of George Floyd…. who died while in police custody after a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for more than 8-minutes.  

All of this… has State Health Officials on the lookout… for whether we will see a dramatic increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. 

MARIE: Here’s Dr. Nick Lennertz from the Minnesota Department of Health 

MARIE: These mass gatherings may put many people at risk for contracting Covid-19.

Health officials are now strongly urging Minnesotans who participated in rallies… or who helped with clean-up efforts following the riots…  to go ahead and get tested for COVID-19 regardless of whether they have symptoms. 

Marie: The incubation period for COVID-19 is two to 14 days. If have symptoms, get tested right away. 

But even if you don’t have symptoms, get tested around 5-7 days after exposure to large group. 

And…  if your test was negative, but you believe you had significant exposure, you can be re-tested after approximately 2 weeks. 

Contact your health care provider to get tested. Or you can use a public testing station. 

This mass testing strategy… will help identify who has the virus and who is contagious, so they can quarantine themselves and we can stop further spreading of the virus… and protect vulnerable community members. 

For MN Native News…. I’m Marie Rock. 

For more information go online to M-N Native news DOT O-R-G

Marie: This MN Native News COVID-19 Daily Update is supported by the MN Dept. of Health.