State of Minnesota: State rolls out dashboard showing PFAS monitoring results for drinking water . “Minnesota residents who get their drinking water from a community public water system will now be able to find out if their system’s water has any level of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), through an interactive online dashboard unveiled today by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH).”
Minitex: MDL Releases New Online Exhibit: Quotable Minnesota. “The Minnesota Digital Library published a new online exhibit titled ‘Quotable Minnesota.’ This exhibit features several quotes from Minnesota’s artists, authors, musicians, leaders, and more. Their inspiring words are illustrated by some of our favorite images from MDL collections.”
The Hill: Probe slams Minneapolis police over racism, fake social media accounts. “A newly released probe found that the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) engaged in race-based policing, failed to hold officers accountable for wrongdoing, and improperly used social media accounts to target Black people and Black organizations.”
Minnesota StarTribune: Minneapolis recommends masks; two Minnesota counties in high COVID range. “The seven-day rate of new COVID cases more than tripled since mid-March to 227 infections per 100,000 people in Minneapolis, and its rate of new COVID-19 hospitalizations more than doubled to 4.8 per 100,000, the city stated in a news release. The hospitalization rate is above Minnesota’s COVID-19 caution threshold.”
New York Times: F.B.I. Sees ‘Massive Fraud’ in Groups’ Food Programs for Needy Children. “In court filings, the F.B.I. said it had discovered a ‘massive fraud scheme’ among groups that Feeding Our Future was supposed to oversee, saying they siphoned off tens of millions of dollars by charging taxpayers for nonexistent meals. In affidavits filed in federal court, the Justice Department said it was investigating at least 15 different feeding operations. Together, the F.B.I. said, these groups — all of which were supposed to be overseen by Feeding Our Future — had received more than $65 million from federal food programs during the coronavirus pandemic.”
StarTribune: Mail, garbage delays in store as omicron wave builds across Minnesota. “As a crushing wave of omicron infections surges across Minnesota, mail carriers and garbage haulers say they’re struggling to keep things going. Some mail won’t go out on time, a union official said, and a handful of garbage routes will see delays, according to a private hauler. The delays are brought on by a record-setting surge of COVID-19 cases connected with the highly contagious omicron variant.”
StarTribune: Minnesota hospitals brace for omicron even as COVID-19 declines in ICUs. “COVID-19 hospitalizations requiring intensive care declined from 374 on Dec. 16 to 255 on Friday in Minnesota, temporarily easing pressure on hospitals as they brace for the omicron wave of the pandemic. The fast-spreading omicron variant has produced an uptick in coronavirus infections in Minnesota, which on Monday reported another 10,810 infections and 44 COVID-19 deaths.”
CNN: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and family test positive for Covid. “Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, his wife, and their teenage son have tested positive for Covid-19, his office announced Tuesday. The Democratic governor said that he and his wife Gwen tested positive Monday night following a PCR test after initially testing negative for the virus earlier that morning.”
NBC News: Health care workers in Minnesota are ‘overwhelmed,’ ‘heartbroken,’ executives say. “Health care executives in Minnesota pleaded with unvaccinated people Sunday to stop the spread of Covid-19, saying that nearly two years into the pandemic, doctors, nurses and others across the state are ‘overwhelmed’ and ‘heartbroken.’ In an open letter published in the Star Tribune of Minneapolis and the Pioneer Press of St. Paul, the executives of nine large health care providers said their emergency rooms are over capacity and their hospital beds are filled.”
StarTribune: Unvaccinated patients are filling Minnesota’s intensive care units. “North [North Memorial Health Hospital] opened the doors Wednesday to South Seven to show how the unvaccinated are suffering the worst cases and contributing to a historic level of pressure on hospitals. Minnesota reported a 2021 record of 1,678 COVID-19 hospitalizations on Thursday, and that COVID and non-COVID patients combined to leave only 18 of 1,012 staffed adult ICU beds open.”
StarTribune: Minnesota reports third COVID death in teen as cases remain high. “The Minnesota Department of Health reported the death of someone age 15-19 on Friday along with 61 others of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by coronavirus infection. While 86% of the 9,616 COVID-19 deaths in Minnesota have been among seniors, an increasing proportion have involved younger adults in the latest pandemic wave this summer and fall.”
Associated Press: Minnesota National Guard to Reinforce Nursing Home Staffs. “The Minnesota National Guard will deploy 400 members to reinforce nursing staffs at long-term care facilities that have been struggling with severe personnel shortages amid the surge in COVID-19 cases, Gov. Tim Walz on Monday also proposed using $50 million in federal coronavirus relief funding to help these facilities hire and retain staff.”
Bloomberg: Covid Rebound in U.S. Is as Bad as Last November’s in Some Spots. “In 15 states, patients with confirmed or suspected Covid are taking up more ICU beds than a year earlier, according to Department of Health and Human Services data. Colorado, Minnesota and Michigan have 41%, 37% and 34% of ICU beds occupied by Covid-19 patients, respectively, the data show. The dramatic uptick means there’s proportionately less space in hospitals for those suffering from other potentially deadly ailments.”
WCCO: COVID In Minnesota: Nat’l Guard Arrives As Hospitals Are Overrun With COVID Cases. “Federal emergency relief teams from the U.S. Department of Defense are on their way to Minnesota to help doctors and nurses at two Minnesota hospitals. When the rest of the state is celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday, they’ll be fighting the state’s COVID-19 surge. The shortage of ICU beds is so severe, doctors warn emergency care across the state is being compromised.”
StarTribune: Minnesota has nation’s worst 7-day rate of new COVID-19 infections. “Minnesota’s rate of new coronavirus infections has been worst in the nation over the past seven days, according to the latest federal data, and has brought the state’s hospitals closer to capacity. State health leaders encouraged Minnesotans to protect themselves with mask-wearing and social distancing measures that Gov. Tim Walz no longer has authority to impose.”
The ResearchBuzz Firehose is regular RB content presented as individual posts.
For digest-type posts a couple of times a day, please visit ResearchBuzz.
Want to know how to best use the Firehose for content discovery?
Check out this handy article.