ST PAUL, Minn. — When Minnesota governor Tim Walz spoke to President Trump this weekend, he made a bold prediction about the week to come.
"I said I think, Mr. President, if you watch what happens in Minnesota this week, this may be the model for opening back up that others want to follow," Walz said, during a news conference on Monday. "So give me an opportunity to show this and see."
Governor Walz says he still believes public/private partnerships with the Mayo Clinic and M Health Fairview will help the state hit an ambitious goal of 40,000 coronavirus tests a week. Though Walz admits Minnesota is still falling short of the goal, he said he believes we can hit the number by the end of this week.
"Minnesotans should just agree we are not testing as much as we should. I would blame both federal and state for not getting that to you," Walz said. "If we get it, which we will, I will be more than happy to give the federal government credit for getting those things out there too. I just want to see the testing."
Walz says the testing is still the centerpiece of his plan to reopen the economy in phases. He says Minnesotans should expect more businesses to open soon, though he says it likely won't be business as usual for more than year, whenever a vaccine becomes reality.
"Just to say open up, that's not reasonable, because we can't just open up without safeguards in place," Walz said.
The same goes for schools, which is why the Governor says he plans to address long-term questions about the school year and distance learning by the end of the week.
"At this point in time I'm not super optimistic about it," Walz said. "Some of these (learning) inequities are being exacerbated. This will have decades-long impact on our children with this interruption if we don't get this right."
St. Paul Schools superintendent Dr. Joe Gothard says he is trying to prepare his district for all scenarios.
"I don't think any of us know for certain, what that's going to look like," Gothard said. "We can't make up for this time."
For now, Gothard says the main focus is trying to make sure students aren't lost in the process. This week he said teams of staff members set out to find at least 110 students who still have not logged on for any distance learning.
"For us, establishing and keeping continuity is going to be incredibly important. Whether that means everyone is enrolled in summer school or enrichment, or some sort of program, we want to make sure that we have a regular way to connect with our families in a meaningful way."
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The state of Minnesota has set up a hotline for general questions about coronavirus at 651-201-3920 or 1-800-657-3903, available 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
There is also a data portal online at mn.gov/covid19.