ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Gov. Tim Walz signed a swiftly-passed $21 million bill Tuesday to bolster the state’s ability to manage the global coronavirus outbreak on a day when the state confirmed its third case.
The Democratic governor signed the first bill to reach his desk this session, one day after the Legislature unanimously approved it. The money will be added to an account that now totals about $25 million. About $10 million is also on its way from a federal grant.
“I’ll be using one pen and not handing it around,” the governor quipped as he signed the bill, signalling a departure from the tradition of passing out pens to people involved in the legislation.
A couple hours later, the Minnesota Department of Health said the state’s third COVID-19 patient is an Anoka County resident in their 30s who was likely exposed to the novel coronavirus through contact with international travelers. Officials don’t think the person was exposed in Minnesota.
The department said the new patient, who was hospitalized in critical condition Tuesday, developed symptoms on Feb. 28 and was evaluated and released March 3, which officials said was appropriate at that point in the patient’s illness. The person sought health care again Monday.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.
The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover. In mainland China, where the virus first exploded, more than 80,000 people have been diagnosed and more than 58,000 have so far recovered.
Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said “well over 100” Minnesota patients have been tested so far, and the the state’s testing capacity is ramping up. She said the Mayo Clinic will soon be able to test for the virus as well.
“As we expand the testing we frankly do expect to find more cases,” the commissioner said. “And as we’ve seen in other communities, while all of the Minnesota cases so far have had a known source of exposure, it is quite likely that we will see community spread in Minnesota at some point.”
Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman said lawmakers will consider whether to provide economic assistance to people who should stay home but would lose their paycheck if they do.
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Baenen reported from Minneapolis.
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Follow AP coverage of the virus outbreak at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
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