GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. — Crowds on Memorial Day weekend have doctors concerned
Doctors are sounding the alarm after videos surfaced over the weekend of people on packed beaches and boardwalks not practicing social distancing. All states have begun to reopen to some degree, but doctors want people to social distance for fear of another surge in COVID-19 cases. In Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks, video captured hundreds of people reportedly crowding a pool party, despite signs posted telling people to practice social distancing. In New York City, parks and bike paths were busy over the weekend, and beaches were crowded coast-to-coast. Many people were shoulder-to-shoulder and not wearing masks. In Arkansas, a second surge of COVID-19 cases has surfaced a month after the first cluster of cases. Governor Asa Hutchinson never issued a stay-at-home order for his state. And according to health officials in Missouri, two hair stylists at a Great Clips came to work despite having COVID-19 symptoms and potentially exposed 140 people to the virus. That salon is now closed.
On Friday morning a stream of vehicles entered Fort Snelling National Cemetery. Typically over the three-day weekend, they'll have about 50,000 visitors come through the cemetery's gates. Deputy Cemetery Director John Knapp anticipates a similar amount of visitors but it will look different than in years past. Fort Snelling National Cemetery's Memorial Day ceremony will be held virtually. Knapp said it will look like a traditional ceremony but instead of in-person, it will be posted to the cemetery's Facebook page this weekend. Fort Snelling National Cemetery will be open from dawn to dusk, and visitors are allowed to place individual flags and flowers on their loved ones' grave sites. On Memorial Day, a private ceremony will be held in person with fewer than 10 cemetery personnel. They will post photos and videos of the ceremony to their Facebook page. They plan to lay a wreath, hold a moment of silence and play taps. Many places across the state are also planning to host virtual ceremonies. Lakewood Cemetery is offering a prerecording of their Memorial Day ceremony that will appear on the cemetery's website Saturday at noon. The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA) is planning a virtual 30-minute Memorial Day program that will air on TPT on Monday at 7:30 p.m. Commemorative Air Force Minnesota Wing is also planning on flying over 15 Twin Cities cemeteries to help honor the men and women who died while serving in the military.
The year 2020, as we’ve all learned, will mark the first cancellation of the Minnesota’s State Fair since 1946. Gordon Olson lived through it. Decades before COVID-19, polio was the scourge that put children and young adults in iron lungs and shut down pools, beaches and movie theaters. Olson’s case came earlier than some, in 1937. He was just 5½ years old and had been home sick for a couple of days when things got suddenly worse. He got out of bed and fell down. He couldn't walk. For two weeks young Gordon lay in bed, isolated in his Fergus Falls home with his mother. Olson’s dad and brother went to stay with his grandparents. He remembers the "Quarantine" sign posted in front of his house. He’d spend the next 5½ months separated from his family at what was then called Gillette State Hospital for Crippled Children in St. Paul.
