Tag: Coronavirus

Minnesota Department of Health: Even Kids Who Test Negative Must Quarantine If Exposed

Corinne Murdock

Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) stated Monday in a press release that even children who test negative for the coronavirus must quarantine if exposed. The MDH’s “COVID-19 Attendance Guide for Parents and Families” explains these standards.

“Getting tested does not shorten the time that they must stay home. Your child must stay home for 14 days (quarantine) from the last contact they had with the person who tested positive for COVID-19, even if the child tests negative,” states the guide.

Read More

High School Students Moving Out of Illinois So They Can Play Sports

Jason M. Reynolds

Illinois high school student athletes and their parents who are tired of COVID-19 delays in sports are taking matters into their own hands — some are protesting, while others are moving out of state to play elsewhere.

Student athletes, coaches and students’ parents rallied in the dozens in McCook on Sunday to demand fall sports to resume, ABC 7 reported. Only golf, cross country, girls’ tennis and girls’ swimming and diving are playing for now.

Read More

Gov Walz’s Sixth Extension of COVID Peacetime Emergency Follows Legislation’s Heated, Divided Vote

Corinne Murdock

Governor Tim Walz extended Minnesota’s COVID-19 Peacetime Emergency for the sixth time after a heated, divided vote in the special legislative session. 
Walz stated in a press release that the coronavirus is still a danger to Minnesotans.

Read More

John Fredericks Commentary: Fauci Debunks Woodward Hit on Trump

Minnesota Sun Staff

Here we go again. Another tell-all book trashing President Trump. What else is new?

The newest snooze-rag comes from longtime lefty WAPO-Bezos lackey Bob Woodward, of Watergate deep-throat fame. In what the mainstream legacy fake news media gushed over, Woodward says the President characterized the coronavirus as “deadly” and “dangerous” — while telling Americans it was nothing to be concerned about. Woodward writes that President Trump told him the Covid-19 virus was “more deadly than even your strenuous flus,” and that he repeatedly played it down publicly.

Read More

Joe Biden Claims 6,000 Military Members Dead From COVID, but the Real Number Is Seven

Minnesota Sun Staff

Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden said Wednesday that more than 6,000 military members have died from coronavirus, Department of Defense (DOD) statistics show the real number is just seven deaths.

While speaking in Michigan on Wednesday, Biden significantly overstated both the number of COVID infections in the military, as well as the number of COVID deaths.

Read More

Biden Flip-Flops on Proposed National Mask Mandate, Says It Would Be Unconstitutional

Minnesota Sun Staff

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Sunday walked back his pledge to impose a national mask mandate, admitting he wouldn’t be able to use the powers of the presidency to make face-coverings compulsory because that would actually be unconstitutional.

Biden was asked to respond to President Trump’s policy of giving more authority to the states during an interview with AZFamily’s “Politics Unplugged.”

Read More

Navy Ends Catholic Masses on San Diego-Area Bases to Cut Costs

Minnesota Sun Staff

The U.S. Navy has reportedly ended Catholic church services on San Diego-area bases for cost purposes, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

The Navy declined to renew contracts with priests who were contracted to assist the Chaplain Corps, an active-duty group containing few Catholic clergy members, according to a Tribune report on Saturday. The new changes are from a national realignment announced in August.

Read More

Pharmaceutical Companies Sign Joint Pledge Promising a Safe Coronavirus Vaccine as Public Confidence Dips

Minnesota Sun Staff

Nine pharmaceutical companies signed a joint pledge Tuesday promising to prioritize safety and science regarding the development and distribution of a coronavirus vaccine.

The pledge is meant to counter declining public confidence in an eventual vaccine, Politico reported. An August CNN poll found that just over half of Americans would be willing to take a vaccine once developed, and a recent Politico poll found that over 60% of voters opposed the release of any vaccine that had not undergone full testing.

Read More

Commentary: America’s Clown Conference

Minnesota Sun Staff

The latest act in the clown show that is the Big Ten Conference’s postponement of football this fall occurred on Thursday afternoon when Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer green-lighted high school football in the state.
Twitter erupted into paroxysms of hope, and the Internet haruspices crouched down to read the chicken entrails. Might the decision of this control-freak governor, who a little more than a week earlier had expressed glee that the Big Ten was scrubbing football for the fall, augur a reversal of opinion among decision makers in the Upper Midwest and thus a possible revocation of the conference suspension of fall sports?

Read More

Poll Reveals Growing Distrust in CDC and Media Over COVID Information

Minnesota Sun Staff

American voters’ trust in the national media and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide accurate information about the coronavirus pandemic has plummeted since March, according to a CBS poll published Sunday.

Roughly 54% of voters trust the CDC for reliable information about the virus, a 30 percentage point drop from March, when 86% of voters said the same thing, the CBS poll showed. Fewer voters also trust the national media to provide good information about coronavirus, or COVID, according to the poll, which was conducted between Sept. 2-4 and sampled 2,493 registered voters nationwide.

Read More

Brookings: Creative Arts Industry Lost 2.7 Million Jobs, More Than $150 Billion in Sales in Four Months

Minnesota Sun Staff

The creative arts industry lost 2.7 million jobs and more than $150 billion in sales of goods and services over four months of pandemic shutdowns, a report published by the Brookings Institution estimates.

In its report, “Lost Art: Measuring COVID-19’s devastating impact on America’s creative economy,” the authors estimate that of the 50 states, “California will be hit hardest in terms of absolute losses for creative industries and occupations, followed by New York and Texas.”

Read More

Poll: Over Three-Quarters of Americans Say Their Finances Are Stable or Getting Better

Minnesota Sun Staff

A majority of registered voters report that their personal finances are stable or improving, according to a new Just the News Daily Poll with Scott Rasmussen.

Asked about their current financial situation, amid a pandemic and street protests that shuttered some retail businesses, 52% of respondents said their bank account is “about the same” as it normally is, while 23% said their personal finances are “getting better.” Just 23% reported a worsening financial outlook.

Read More

‘Beyond Shameful’: Emotional Salon Owner Rips into Pelosi for Claiming She Was Set up

Minnesota Sun Staff

San Francisco salon owner Erica Kious said Thursday that it is “beyond shameful” for Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to accuse Kious of setting her up.

“For the speaker of the House of the United States to go on TV and falsely claim she was set up and publicly defame me and send out PR firms to spin more lies about Jonathan in support of the speaker’s own lies is bad enough,” Kious said on a Thursday evening press call to reporters.

Read More

Shelby County Says Woman Dead for Six Months Contracted COVID-19, Needs to Isolate

Jason M. Reynolds

When is a COVID-19 patient not a COVID-19 patient? When the person has been dead for six months, as has reportedly happened in Memphis.

Media reports have carried the story, including coverage here by KVUE.

Read More

Commentary: We Have Had Enough Lockdown

Minnesota Sun Staff

Take off the masks and remove the “social distancing” circles from the floors. Open the schools, liberate college campuses, fill the restaurants and the gyms and the churches and the salons. Enough.

If 2020 wasn’t twisted enough, the current political imbroglio centers around a verboten visit to a California boutique for a routine blow-out. Americans are lining up either behind House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who claims she was “set up” to visit the San Francisco salon, or the salon’s owner, a woman struggling to keep her business alive amid cruel and unscientific edicts issued by her governor months ago.

Read More

New York City Has Worst Unemployment Rate as One in Three Workers Worry About Job Security

Minnesota Sun Staff

As Americans approach Labor Day, with roughly 10.2 percent unemployed, a new survey conducted by WalletHub found that one in three Americans worry about job security.

In its nationally representative Coronavirus & Labor Day Survey, WalletHub found that Americans want extended COVID-19 relief. Of those surveyed, 74 percent said Congress should continue to extend additional federal unemployment benefits until their respective states fully reopen.

Read More

Oregon Coronavirus Fund May Violate Constitution by Excluding Non-Black Applicants, Experts Say

Minnesota Sun Staff

A COVID-19 relief fund for African-Americans operated out of Portland, Ore., with federal tax dollars may run afoul of both the Constitution and 1964 Civil Rights Act if it excludes non-black applicants, legal experts warn.

The Oregon Cares Fund for Black Relief + Resiliency said it seeks to offer “economic relief for the Black community, who are among Oregon’s most vulnerable groups due to systemic divestment and disparities widened and exacerbated by COVID-19.” The program is administered by two local nonprofits, the Contingent and the Black United Fund of Oregon.

Read More

Majority of Voters Prefer Pandemic Decisions be Made at the Local and State Levels

Minnesota Sun Staff

A majority of registered voters in America favor pandemic-related policy decisions be made at the state and local levels, according to a new Just the News Daily Poll with Scott Rasmussen.

Just over 50% of voters would prefer “letting state and local officials determine the appropriate policies for their communities,”  while 37% favor “a national shutdown of the economy that closed all but essential businesses.”

Read More

Sen. Gazelka Challenges Gov. Walz on COVID Measures and Meetings: ‘There is No Longer an Emergency’

Corinne Murdock

Senator Paul Gazelka (R-Nisswa) continues to challenge Governor Tim Walz’s emergency executive powers, even after their private meeting Thursday. The two disagree about the necessity of Minnesota’s continued state of emergency.

Their meeting marked the 175th day of Walz’s orders.

Read More

Sen. Gazelka Challenges Gov. Walz on COVID Measures and Meetings: ‘There is No Longer an Emergency’

Corinne Murdock

Senator Paul Gazelka (R-Nisswa) continues to challenge Governor Tim Walz’s emergency executive powers, even after their private meeting Thursday. The two disagree about the necessity of Minnesota’s continued state of emergency.

Their meeting marked the 175th day of Walz’s orders.

Read More

New Jobless Claims Fall Below One Million, Beat Wall Street Expectations

Minnesota Sun Staff

The number of Americans filing new unemployment claims decreased to 881,000 last week as the economy continues to suffer the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Department of Labor.

The Department of Labor figure released Thursday represented a decrease of new jobless claims compared to the week ending on Aug. 22, in which there were 1,006,000 new jobless claims reported.

Read More

Nancy Pelosi Ignores COVID-19 Rules, Gets Hair Done

Minnesota Sun Staff

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was filmed breaking San Francisco Covid-19 rules by getting her hair done indoors and without a mask, Fox News reported.

In security footage shared with the channel, the California Democrat can be seen walking through eSalon in the city’s Pacific Heights neighborhood at around 3:10 p.m. Monday, with wet hair and no mask on her face. Pelosi is followed by the stylist, who is wearing a mask.

Read More

Third Virus Vaccine Reaches Major Hurdle: Final U.S. Testing

The Associated Press

A handful of the dozens of experimental COVID-19 vaccines in human testing have reached the last and biggest hurdle — looking for the needed proof that they really work as a U.S. advisory panel suggested Tuesday a way to ration the first limited doses once a vaccine wins approval.

AstraZeneca announced Monday its vaccine candidate has entered the final testing stage in the U.S. The Cambridge, England-based company said the study will involve up to 30,000 adults from various racial, ethnic and geographic groups.

Read More

White House COVID Coordinator Tells Minnesotans to Wear Masks in Their Homes

Minnesota Sun Staff

Dr. Deborah Birx, a top official on the White House Coronavirus Task Force, advised Minnesotans to wear masks inside their homes during a recent press conference in St. Paul.

“It really does come down to every Minnesotan following these common sense path[s] forward to ensure we protect each other, and really a lot of that pathway goes through wearing this mask not just in public but also in private if we need to protect others in the household,” she told reporters Sunday after a meeting with officials from the Minnesota Department of Health.

Read More

White House COVID Coordinator Tells Minnesotans to Wear Masks in Their Homes

Minnesota Sun Staff

Dr. Deborah Birx, a top official on the White House Coronavirus Task Force, advised Minnesotans to wear masks inside their homes during a recent press conference in St. Paul.

“It really does come down to every Minnesotan following these common sense path[s] forward to ensure we protect each other, and really a lot of that pathway goes through wearing this mask not just in public but also in private if we need to protect others in the household,” she told reporters Sunday after a meeting with officials from the Minnesota Department of Health.

Read More

U.S. COVID Response Coordinator Dr. Birx: Minnesotans Haven’t Done Enough to Decrease Spread

Corinne Murdock

U.S. Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx stated in a visit to Minnesota on Sunday that Minnesotans haven’t done enough to decrease the spread of COVID-19. The visit is part of a cross-country tour to gauge how well states are adhering to coronavirus guidelines.
Birx commended the measures instituted by the state. However, she said that Minnesotans needed to do more – especially in rural areas.

Read More

U.S. COVID Response Coordinator Dr. Birx: Minnesotans Haven’t Done Enough to Decrease Spread

Corinne Murdock

U.S. Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx stated in a visit to Minnesota on Sunday that Minnesotans haven’t done enough to decrease the spread of COVID-19. The visit is part of a cross-country tour to gauge how well states are adhering to coronavirus guidelines.
Birx commended the measures instituted by the state. However, she said that Minnesotans needed to do more – especially in rural areas.

Read More

College Towns Growing Alarmed Over Outbreaks Among Students

The Associated Press

As waves of schools and businesses around the country are cleared to reopen, college towns are moving toward renewed shutdowns because of too many parties and too many COVID-19 infections among students.

With more than 300 students at the University of Missouri testing positive for the coronavirus and an alarming 44% positivity rate for the surrounding county, the local health director Friday ordered bars to stop serving alcohol at 9 p.m. and close by 10 p.m.

Read More

NFIB Survey: 1 in 5 Small Business Owners Say They Will Close If Economic Conditions Don’t Improve Within Six Months

Minnesota Sun Staff

More than 20 percent of small business owners said they will have to close permanently if current economic conditions do not improve within the next six months, according to a survey conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business.

The largest small business association in the U.S., headquartered in Nashville, conducted the survey to assess the financial health of small businesses.

Read More

Commentary: Coronavirus and the Perils of Disease Modeling

Minnesota Sun Staff

I’m pleased to announce the third in AIER’s book series on the virus: Coronavirus and Disease Modeling. This follows Coronavirus and Economic Crisis and Coronavirus and Economic Recovery. The third book focuses on the fallacies of epidemiological modeling and the social and economic planning that instituted its inspiration. 

Read More

Commentary: Gallup Poll Shows Homeschooling Rate Doubles as School Satisfaction Plummets

Minnesota Sun Staff

Results of a new Gallup poll released this week may give us the sharpest look yet at how the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted American education and what may lie ahead. According to the poll, parents’ overall satisfaction with their child’s education dropped 10 percent over last year, while at the same time the number of parents saying they will choose homeschooling doubled in 2020 to 10 percent.

Read More

More Than 20,000 Coronavirus Cases Have Been Counted at Colleges Since Late July: Report

Minnesota Sun Staff

Colleges across the United States have reported more than 20,000 coronavirus cases since late July, according to The New York Times.

At least 26,000 cases and 64 deaths have been reported from more than 1,500 colleges since the pandemic started, according to the Times survey of reported cases at U.S. universities.

Read More

POLL: Nearly Half of Americans Say They’ve Saved More Money or Paid Down Debt During Outbreak, Recession

Minnesota Sun Staff

About half of all Americans say they are saving money and paying down debt amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to an Associated Press poll published Tuesday.

Roughly 45% of Americans surveyed said they saved more money than usual amid the pandemic, according to the poll. Nearly 30% of respondents in the poll said they are paying down debt faster than they were before the coronavirus pandemic, the poll showed.

Read More

Commentary: Four Life-Threatening Unintended Consequences of the Lockdowns

Minnesota Sun Staff

When policymakers across the country decided to “lock down” in response to the March outbreak of the novel coronavirus, they took a leap into the unknown. Not only did we know little about COVID-19 itself at that time, but we knew almost nothing about how shutting down nearly all of society would affect people.

Policymakers focused on their models predicting how lockdowns could help limit the spread of COVID-19; an important factor, to be sure. So, too, many acknowledged the negative economic ramifications of lockdowns. But in the months since, we’ve seen many other dire consequences stem from the unprecedented shutdown of society.

Read More

Analysis: The Hard Facts on COVID-19 Science Denial

Minnesota Sun Staff

In a Washington Post op-ed titled “More Republican Casualties From Trump’s Coronavirus Denial,” columnist Jennifer Rubin claims that “red states”—specifically Texas, Arizona, and Arkansas—are “paying the price” for their “arrogant and reckless disregard of expert advice.”

In concert with Rubin, multitudes of reporters and commentators have declared that Republican governors have worsened the effects of Covid-19 by “denying science” and reopening “too early.” Meanwhile, they have praised Democratic governors, like Andrew Cuomo of NY and Phil Murphy of NJ, for their handling of the pandemic.

Read More

National Parks Service Approves 50,000-Person March on Washington, Will Not Enforce Masks, Social Distancing

Minnesota Sun Staff

A permit for the 57th March on Washington obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation shows that organizers anticipate around 50,000 people will attend the Washington, D.C., event Friday.

The permit for the annual march from the National Park Service grants permission to “conduct a public gathering” to Rev. Mark Thompson and the National Action Network (NAN) to commemorate the 57th March on Washington despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic that has led to limitations on public gatherings.

Read More

Whitmer Reportedly Lone Governor Preventing Big 10 Football

Jordyn Pair

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer could be a “major roadblock” to the start of the Big 10 football season, according to Ohio State insider Jeff Snook.

The Spun reported that Snook is saying that Whitmer against University of Michigan playing football.

Read More

President Trump Announces Plasma Treatment Authorized for COVID-19

The Associated Press

President Donald Trump announced Sunday the emergency authorization of convalescent plasma for COVID-19 patients, in a move he called “a breakthrough,” one of his top health officials called “promising,” and other health experts said needs more study before it’s celebrated.

The announcement comes after days of White House officials suggesting there were politically motivated delays by the Food and Drug Administration in approving a vaccine and therapeutics for the disease that has upended Trump’s reelection chances.

Read More

Churches Sue Governor Walz, State Attorney General and County Attorneys for Violating Religious Liberties

Corinne Murdock

Three churches are suing the governor and his constituents for executive orders that violate their religious liberties. Defendants in the case are Governor Tim Walz, State Attorney General Keith Ellison, and county attorneys Chad Larson, Tom Kelly, and Donald Ryan. The Thomas More Society filed on behalf of the churches.

The lawsuit cites Article I, Section 16 of Minnesota’s Constitution as state precedent protecting the right to worship: “the right of every man to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience shall never be infringed.” The lawsuit also cites Christian adherence to the Bible’s commandment for believers to worship together.

Read More

Two Colleges Suspend Students for Gatherings That Broke Coronavirus Restrictions

Minnesota Sun Staff

Syracuse University and Purdue University have suspended dozens of students for attending gatherings that violated coronavirus restrictions before classes have begun, the schools announced this week.

Both universities had policies and pledges implemented in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19, including face mask wearing, social distancing guidelines and restrictions on event sizes, according to statements from the schools.

Read More

Minnesota Department of Health COVID-19 Report: All Schools Safe to Reopen

Corinne Murdock

The latest report from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) reveals that all schools are safe to reopen for in-person learning models, according to county case numbers. The MDH released this information as part of an updated report published every Thursday. 
Many elementary and high schools are scheduled to begin their fall semesters in several weeks’ time. Schools are required to submit their learning model plans to families the week before their start date. Models reflect one of three options: in-person learning, distance learning, or a hybrid of the two. All models are subject to change throughout the semester, depending on county case levels.

Read More

New Unemployment Claims Surge Past a Million After One Week Drop Below Threshold

Minnesota Sun Staff

More than 1.1 million American workers filed new unemployment claims last week, a week after the number of claims dropped below the million mark for the first time since pandemic-related shutdowns were put in place in March.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 1,106,000 workers filed new claims on a seasonally adjusted basis in the week ending Aug. 15.

Read More

Minnesota Lifts Statewide Ban on Hydroxychloroquine

Corinne Murdock

Governor Walz lifted the restrictions on access to hydroxychloroquine, a drug that has been in use for decades to treat a wide variety of illnesses – including SARS-type infections – that some say may be an effective therapeutic for COVID-19. The removal of limitations on the drug were outlined in Walz’s latest executive order issued last week.

Walz did not give an explanation for the reversal of his order on the drug.

Read More

Commentary: The Sneaky Trick a Public Health Official Used to Make Mask Mandates Look Super Effective

Minnesota Sun Staff

As of early August, 34 US states mandate the use of masks in public to limit the spread of COVID-19.

The efficacy of face masks has been a subject of debate in the health community during the pandemic. Because health experts disagree on their effectiveness, countries and health agencies around the world, including the World Health Organization and the CDC, have done a reversal on their mask recommendations during the pandemic.

Read More

Remote Learning Is Leaving Working Parents with Few Options, Big Bills

Minnesota Sun Staff

Many public school districts across the country have shifted from offering some in-person learning options for students to offering only remote learning at the start of the school year.

The change in plans sent many working parents rushing to find either a place for their kids to go while they work or to find a caregiver they could pay to supervise remote learning at home. Either option could end up costing parents thousands of dollars. 

Read More

White House Calls on Congress to Fund Another $105 Billion to Help States Reopen Schools

Minnesota Sun Staff

At a forum held at the White House Wednesday, the Trump administration said it is calling on Congress to authorize another $105 billion in funding to help states reopen schools.

“We believe many school districts can now reopen safely, provided they implement mitigation measures and health protocols to protect families, protect teachers, and to protect students,” President Donald Trump said.

Read More

Joe Biden Calls for Nationwide Mask Mandate

The Associated Press

Joe Biden is calling for a nationwide protective mask mandate, citing health experts’ predictions that it could save 40,000 lives from coronavirus over the next three months.

”Wearing the mask is less about you contracting the virus,” Biden said. “It’s about preventing other people from getting sick.”

Read More