From Staff Reports

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ST. CLOUD — A patient has tested positive for the new coronavrius in Stearns County, according to the Minnesota Department of Health

There are nine positive tests in Minnesota — in Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Olmstead, Ramsey and Stearns counties, according to the department website. A total of 316 patients have been tested across the state.

The Stearns County resident who contracted the virus had returned from a cruise in the Caribbean on March 6, and developed symptoms on Saturday according to Dr. Kimberly Tjaden, medical consultant to the Stearns County Community Health Board.

The patient, who is in their 60s, self-isolated and is now at home, Tjaden said during a Thursday press conference at the Stearns County Administration Center.

One exposure, who is a household contact, has been quarantined as well. “Both individuals are doing well at home now,” Tjaden said.

All four of Thursday's new cases, located in Stearns, Ramsey, Hennepin and Dakota counties, had either direct exposure to another COVID-19 case or have recently traveled internationally, said MDH Infectious Disease Division Director Kris Ehresmann during a conference call Thursday.

The state’s response remains in the “containment phase,” Ehresmann said, but the department is beginning to change its approach. “We are now starting to move into the phase where we want to focus on community mitigation,” Ehresmann said.

“People’s personal lives will be impacted,” she said during the call. “The duration of these actions will not be short-term.”

Stearns County Public Health Director Renee Frauendienst said at the press conference the county will “start moving towards the minimal or the moderate level of ... community mitigation.”

For Stearns County, community mitigation could include canceling large gatherings or reducing visitors to places with high-risk populations.

CentraCare and several assisted living facilities in the area have already reduced or halted visits to their facilities. Many events have already been canceled without a recommendation from the county.

Other large events, such as the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and the Minnesota Builder’s Association Home & Lifestyle show, are still planned for coming weeks. Stearns County has not officially recommended that those events be canceled as of Thursday.

“Those are the things that we’ll be talking with our community partners about,” Frauendienst said, “should we be canceling those things or should we not?”

The county will follow CDC guidelines as they plan the community mitigation phase, and will follow guidelines from the MDH when they are released.

The MDH is not recommending widespread school closures at this time, Ehresmann said during the conference call. Children under 19 are at the lowest risk according to global data, Ehresmann said.

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“We’re asking schools to implement what is referred to as social distancing,” Ehresman said. The MDH is recommending schools reduce the frequency of large gatherings, reduce the number of people in gatherings and reduce “mixing” such as school-wide recess periods.

“This may impact our lives even if we are healthy,” she said, “but our goal is to protect people who are most vulnerable.”

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